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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870960">With A Little Help From My Friend</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manuelita_la_Tortuga/pseuds/Manuelita_la_Tortuga'>Manuelita_la_Tortuga</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassin's Creed - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Asexual Character, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:33:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,343</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25870960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manuelita_la_Tortuga/pseuds/Manuelita_la_Tortuga</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A fix-it fic whose premise is, how would things have gone differently if Kassandra had had a companion, a la Xena and Gabrielle?</p><p>Will introduce additional characters and relationships as we progress. Tagging will be updated as needed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kassandra/Kyra (Assassin's Creed) (secondary), Kassandra/Original character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Captain! Commander!”</p><p>Kassandra and Barnabas turned from where they had been discussing the route to Phokis to see Odessa and one of the rowers dragging a third person between them up from below decks.</p><p>“What’s going on?”</p><p>“Stowaway, Commander.”</p><p>Kassandra, glanced at Barnabas before taking the steps down from the bridge to stand before the trio.</p><p>“We found her hiding among the cargo.”</p><p>“All right, thank you, Odessa. I’ll take it from here.” </p><p>The stowaway was a young woman, clutching a small wooden case to her chest, and blinking in the strong sunlight behind Kassandra. The rower shoved her disgustedly away from himself. Still holding the case protectively against herself, she was unable to break her fall, and went sprawling at Kassandra’s feet.</p><p>“Ey, enough of that. Back to work with you!” Barnabas’ voice was sharp behind her as Kassandra crouched in front of the young woman and looked her over curiously. </p><p>She appeared younger than Kassandra by a few years, barely more than a girl. But the fear in her eyes, and the hints of bruises Kassandra had spied on her arms as she fell told her she would need to tread softly with her. She smiled gently and gestured to the bench at the rear of the bridge.</p><p>“I think we’d be more comfortable talking over there, don’t you?”</p><p>The girl flinched when Kassandra reached a hand out to her, clutching the case more tightly.</p><p>“Here we go.” Slowly, as though taming a wild animal, Kassandra took her elbow and helped her to her feet, then guided her up the steps onto the bridge and to the bench. She crouched in front of her again, thinking that would be less intimidating than looming over her from her full height.</p><p>“So.” She cocked her head suddenly, looking more closely at the young woman’s face. “I recognize you. You were apprenticed to the healer in Megara, yes?”</p><p>The girl gulped then nodded slightly.</p><p>“What brings you aboard the Adrestia in such an… unorthodox maner?”</p><p>The girl glanced fearfully between Kassandra and Barnabas before answering.</p><p>“Please don’t send me back.”</p><p>Kassandra settled back on her heels and rested her elbow on her upraised knee.</p><p>“What are you running from?” she asked softly. “Or who?” She reached out to lift aside the drape of cloth covering the girl’s arm, revealing the bruise she had glimpsed earlier, now obviously visible as the mark of a large hand. “The person who did this?”</p><p>She nodded hesitantly, her head drooping in shame. With her head bowed, she didn’t see Kassandra’s gaze harden in anger as a surge of protectiveness flowed through her. Kassandra quickly softened her look, not wanting the girl to think she was placing the blame on her.</p><p>“Hey.” Kassandra touched her knee gently and waited for the girl to look at her before continuing. “We won’t take you anywhere you don’t want to go, ok? And I have no plans to take the ship back to Megaris anytime soon.”</p><p>She got to her feet as the young woman nodded in response, a look of relief in her eyes, and sat next to her on the bench leaning her elbows on her knees and looking sidelong at her.</p><p>“So what were your intentions?” The girl’s brow furrowed in confusion, so she elaborated. “You must have wanted more than just escape. What were your plans? Do you even know where we’re heading? Wait, first, what is your name?”</p><p>Overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, the girl answered the last one first.</p><p>“Helene.” Her voice was soft and hesitant.</p><p>“Helene.” Kassandra smiled. “And as beautiful as your namesake.” She hadn’t really meant to say that, but the girl was indeed beautiful, with green eyes, golden skin and a splash of freckles across her nose. Kassandra’s smile widened slightly as the girl blushed and ducked her head and Barnabas snorted and rolled his eyes. She ignored him pointedly. “Well, back to my previous question, Helene. What were your plans?”</p><p>“I… I don’t know where you’re going,” Helene confessed. “I just needed to get away from...” She trailed off, her fingers plucking nervously at the corners of the wooden case.</p><p>Kassandra put a gentle hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“No one on this ship will willingly hurt you. Not if I have anything to say about it. And I do,” she finished flatly.</p><p>Helene took a shaky breath and nodded, finally continuing.</p><p>“I had hoped to find a temple or more experienced healer I could join once I was back on land.” She started speaking more quickly, glancing timidly between Barnabas and Kassandra, as though trying to convince them of her truthfulness. “I completed my training several months ago and I could set up on my own if I wanted to, but I stayed with Eudoxos because, with the war, he needed all the help he could get.”</p><p>Kassandra looked at her musingly for a few moments, then turned to Barnabas.</p><p>“We don’t have a healer in the crew, do we, Barnabas?”</p><p>Barnabas shook his grizzled head ruefully. </p><p>“Our last one fell in love with an island girl a couple of months before you and I met and jumped ship, the malaka.”</p><p>Kassandra looked back at Helene, who was looking hopefully between the two.</p><p>“What do you think? We’re a bit low on high level crew at the moment, so there are several cabins available. You’d have some privacy.” Kassandra pinched her lip thoughtfully. “We’d need to get you the necessary supplies at our next stop.”</p><p>Helene smiled hesitantly, indicating the case she was holding. </p><p>“I have my medical kit with me.”</p><p>Kassandra grinned broadly and patted her back.</p><p>“Good! Then it’s settled. Barnabas, meet our new ship’s healer! Helene, your captain, Barnabas. Come,” she gestured towards the hatch to the lower decks. “you can have your choice of the empty cabins.”</p><p>Helene stood to follow and called out hesitantly.</p><p>“What do I call you?”</p><p>Kassandra had taken the first couple of steps down to the lower decks, and started back up at Helene’s question, but before she could answer, Barnabas had an arm across Helene’s shoulders, the other gesturing expansively at the bemused Kassandra.</p><p>“This, my dear, is Kassandra of Sparta! The mighty Eagle Bearer! Daughter of Zeus and Slayer of the Cyclops!”</p><p>As Kassandra rolled her eyes and glared half-heartedly at Barnabas, Helene’s eyes widened. This was the Eagle Bearer? The one everyone had been talking about around town? No, really, she should have guessed. Who else could she be? </p><p>“You’re the misthios who was helping the Spartans? The one who killed the Spartan commander after helping him defeat the Athenians?”</p><p>“What? No! I mean…” Kassandra rubbed the back of her neck and glanced around to see if any of the crew were listening. Noticing one or two looking on, she took a step back towards the bridge. “Yes, I helped the Spartans. But I didn’t kill their general!”</p><p>“But everyone was saying that he had vanished after the battle and that you were the last one to see him alive.”</p><p>Kassandra sighed in frustration.</p><p>“I thought I’d get away from this kind of gossip when I left Kephallonia, but it seems larger towns aren’t any better when it comes to that.” She took another step closer to Helene and Barnabas. “We talked. And when we’d finished, he walked away from me. Alive. I don’t know where he went. And anyway,” she scratched her arm irritatedly. “Does it make a difference in your choice to stay with us whether I did or didn’t kill the man?”</p><p>Helene blinked in surprise.</p><p>“No, misthios. Sorry. I… I’ve just never met anyone famous before.”</p><p>Kassandra shrugged irritably.</p><p>“It’s Kassandra. Just Kassandra.”</p><p>“Sorry, mis… Sorry, Kassandra.”</p>
<hr/><p>Helene looked around the small cabin with a small smile. Kassandra cleared her throat behind her.</p><p>“It’s not very big. But none of them are,” she said apologetically.</p><p>“No, it’s perfect. Thank you.” She smiled shyly. “Much better than my previous… accommodations.” She saw Kassandra frown and her smile widened slightly. “Hiding among the cargo.”</p><p>Kassandra chuckled, and Helene felt herself flush with pride at the accomplishment. She wanted to hear that laughter again.</p><p>“Is that all you brought with you?” Kassandra indicated the case that Helene had on the small table bolted to the floor.</p><p>Helene shook her head. “I… no… I had a bag with some clothes and some food. And all the drachmae I had.” She felt a sudden spike of panic. “I dropped it when… when they found me.”</p><p>Kassandra smiled at her and she felt the panic begin to subside. </p><p>“Well, it can’t have gone far. We’ll find it and bring it here to your quarters.” She put a gentle hand on Helene’s arm, and the younger woman felt the last of her panic slip away. </p><p>Her touch shifted the fold of chiton that had covered her arms and revealed the bruises again. Helene could see the change in Kassandra’s expression as she brushed her thumb gently across them, making her shiver.</p><p>“The one who did this, was it your master? The healer?”</p><p>“No!” Her voice was louder than she’d intended. She continued in a lower voice. “No. Eudoxos was a strict teacher, but he never laid a hand on me.” She sighed, and feeling suddenly very tired, sat on the edge of the bed.</p><p>Kassandra felt suddenly as though she were looming over the other woman, well, looming even more -  Helene was short. Even when not compared to Kassandra. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, she pulled the chair out from under the table, flipped it around and straddled it, crossing her arms over the back and smiling encouragingly at Helene.</p><p>“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m sorry I brought it up.”</p><p>“No, it’s ok. It…” Helene stopped and swallowed hard, taking a deep breath before continuing. “My parents arranged a match for me several years ago. We were to wed after I completed my training.” She found she couldn’t look at Kassandra while she talked about this, certain that the mighty misthios would feel nothing but contempt for someone who couldn’t even defend themselves. “Arktos was always a bully, even when we were children, but he- he’s always been able to fool the people he wanted to impress. Around my parents he was always charming and attentive. When we were alone, though, he was… cruel, angry. I tried telling my parents, but,” she swallowed hard again, blinking back tears, “they loved Arktos. In their eyes he could do no wrong. They told me I must be exaggerating, or that I’d done something to anger him, that it was my fault.”</p><p>“Malakes! The lot of them! That Arktos is lucky I don’t intend to return to Megaris, or I would show him the flat of my blade.” Kassandra’s lip curled. “If I was feeling generous that day.”</p><p>Helene looked up in surprise, shocked at Kassandra’s vehemence. It was the first time anyone had believed her when she’d talked about Arktos. The tears she’d been trying to suppress spilled out and trailed down her cheeks. </p><p>“Ey, ey...” Kassandra was suddenly all gentleness, coming to sit next to her and putting her arms around her. “You’re safe now.”</p><p>Helene had always had a tendency to hold herself apart from people. She had always felt broken, with her inability to connect to people, to desire them the way everyone else seemed to, and it had always seemed safer to keep her distance, to maintain boundaries. If she didn’t get close to people, she wouldn’t get hurt when they found she was broken and inevitably pushed her away, or tried to fix her by force. </p><p>But now, she found herself enveloped in an embrace the likes of which she had never imagined. With Kassandra’s strong arms around her and her voice muttering soothing nonsense as one of her hands rubbed lightly up and down her back, she could well imagine that no one would ever again dare lay a hand on her the way Arktos had done. She would have liked to stay in that embrace forever, but after a few moments, she forced herself away from her and wiped her eyes, missing the contained strength of those arms already as Kassandra immediately pulled away to give her some space.</p><p>Kassandra flushed suddenly, realizing how inappropriate her conduct with the young healer might appear, especially on first acquaintance, and glad that the thoughts that had run through her mind while she held her were private. She smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.</p><p>Well,” she stuttered. “Safer, anyway. There are pirates and bandits and wolves and the gods know what else out there, but...” </p><p>A tentative touch to her hand cut off her babbling.</p><p>“Thank you, Kassandra.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Self-indulgent fluff.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A heatwave struck, taking with it the wind and leaving the Adrestia becalmed. As the sun dipped lower in the sky, and despite the urgency Kassandra felt driving her, she had agreed with Barnabas that they should drop anchor for the night and let the crew rest rather than rowing through the night.</p><p>A brief foray to her cabin quickly convinced her that sleeping inside would be impossible. The interior of the Adrestia was stifling. She stayed long enough to remove her armour and grab a blanket, pillow and water skin before making her way back up on deck, with a detour through the galley to see what the ship’s cook had on offer.</p><p>She quickly realized she was not the only one who’d had the idea to sleep under the stars, as she had to pick her way around crew members chatting, playing card and dice games, singing and drowsing. Thinking the bridge might be less crowded, she made her way aft and stopped short when she found Helene there before her, laying out a blanket of her own.</p><p>The healer paused when she saw Kassandra staring at her.</p><p>“I can move somewhere else,” she said hesitantly, starting to refold her blanket.</p><p>“No! No, there’s plenty of room. No reason for you to move. If you don’t mind sharing?”</p><p>Helene shook her head shyly as she spread her blanket back out and dropped cross-legged onto it.</p><p>“How are you settling in?” Kassandra glanced over at the younger woman as she spread her own blanket out nearby. “Any of the crew giving you trouble?”</p><p>“No, everyone’s been very welcoming. I’ve found that most people don’t like to upset a healer.” She smiled.</p><p>Kassandra grinned back, glad to see Helene relaxing a bit more.</p><p>“Why’s that?”</p><p>Helene’s smile turned mischievous.</p><p>“A healer knows how you’re put together. And they can tear you apart just as easily, if necessary.”</p><p>Kassandra gave a bark of laughter. </p><p>“Noted. Don’t annoy the healer.”</p><p>“I don’t think you need to worry about that.” With her head bowed, her voice had been low enough that any other person would probably have missed her words.</p><p>Kassandra fumbled for a flirty response, but came up blank and instead offered the napkin the cook had filled for her towards the young healer.</p><p>“Olive? Or some cheese?” She frowned and unfolded the napkin. “Actually, I’m not entirely sure what he gave me. Just that it’s all cold. Oh, there are some figs too.”</p><p>With a shy smile and a muttered thank you, Helene took a fig. Kassandra laid out the heavily filled napkin between them.</p><p>“Help yourself. Normally, I would consider this a snack at best, but in this heat, I don’t have much of an appetite.”</p><p>Helene was amused to see Kassandra follow this statement by breaking a piece of flatbread in half, filling it to bursting with cheese, olives and some cold meat and demolishing it in just a few bites, before reaching for the other half of the piece of bread and repeating the procedure. If this was Kassandra without much of an appetite, how much did she eat under normal circumstances? Helene herself ate the fig, and allowed Kassandra to press some bread and cheese on her as well.</p><p>Meal finished, she lay back on her blanket, and found herself watching her new... captain? No, Barnabas was the captain, wasn’t he? Kassandra had called him that. Commander, that’s what the sailor woman who’d found her had called out. Kassandra must be the commander of the Adrestia. Whatever that meant.</p><p>With the moonlight providing contrast, she sudenly noticed a small scar crossing Kassandra’s lip. She wondered how she’d received it. There were also the more obvious bands of scar tissue around her right arm. Were those rope burns? Or perhaps from an animal attack? She felt a sudden temptation to run her fingers along those lines of scar tissue and frowned. Where had that thought come from? She had never been drawn to another person in this way before.</p><p>She pulled her eyes away from the fascinating misthios, and studied the skies instead. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kassandra fold up the napkin that had contained their supper, and lay down on her own blanket, lacing her hands behind her head.</p><p>“At least it’s not cloudy. The stars are beautiful tonight.”</p><p>Helene made a noise of agreement. </p><p>“Back on Kephallonia, I often used to sleep on the roof of my house, when the weather was nice.”</p><p>Still pretending to be absorbed in her stargazing, Helene could see that Kassandra was now watching her. She felt her face warm.</p><p>“My brothers would take me hunting sometimes, and we would camp out under the stars. They would tell me stories about the patterns in the stars.”</p><p>“What kinds of stories?”</p><p>“Well,” Helene turned her attention more fully to the patterns above them, and pointed to the three stars that marked Orion’s belt. “Orion, for example. They also told me tales of the two bears.” She moved her finger slightly. “My favourite was the story of Cassiopeia.” She glanced over at Kassandra, who was glancing between her face and her pointing finger. “Do you know it?”</p><p>“Tell me.”</p><p>Helene shifted slightly until she could see the constellation of Cassiopeia and pointed to it. </p><p>“There. Do you see those stars that look a bit like a sigma on its side?” She felt Kassandra shift closer to her, leaning in so she could follow her finger. Helene gulped, and stopped breathing for a moment.</p><p>“Oh, yes! I see it!”</p><p>Helene had expected Kassandra to shift back over, but instead she lay back just where she was, with her shoulder just barely touching Helene’s. Helene cleared her throat nervously and forced herself to continue.</p><p>“Cassiopeia was a queen. She was very beautiful, but also very vain. She once boasted that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the Nereids, the daughters of the god Nereus. When Poseidon heard this, he was furious and sent the monster Cetus to destroy the city. Cassiopeia and her husband, the king, consulted an oracle, who told them that the only way to save the city was to sacrifice their daughter to the monster.”</p><p>Kassandra made a noise of disgust. Helene looked at her in surprise.</p><p>“Oracles,” Kassandra declared in tones of deepest disdain. “Never cause anything but trouble. It wasn’t the girl’s fault her mother was an idiot!” She shook her head and let out a deep breath, before turning on her side and propping her head up on her hand. “Sorry. What happened next?”</p><p>Biting back the questions that Kassandra’s reaction to her story had brought up, Helene continued.</p><p>“They took Andromeda to the place of sacrifice, tied her up, and left her to be eaten by the monster.”</p><p>“They just left her there? By herself? And tied up? With no way to defend herself?” With each question, Kassandra sounded more and more horrified. “Malaka! What kinds of parents would…” She cut herself off suddenly and shook her head, before lightly patting Helene’s arm.</p><p>“Sorry to interrupt again. Please continue. I’ll keep my comments to myself until the end.”</p><p>Helene had found herself smiling at Kassandra’s tirade and had to pull her thoughts back together to remember where she’d left off. She’d never had such an attentive audience before, and wanted to do the story justice.</p><p>“So, they left her tied up. But the hero Perseus had heard of Andromeda’s fate, and he killed the monster before it could eat her. But Poseidon was still angry. He felt that Cassiopeia had escaped her punishment, so he had her chained to a throne and placed in the heavens to be held there forever.”</p><p>“Well, at least the right person was punished in the end. What happened to Perseus and Andromeda?”</p><p>“They were married and went back to Argos, Perseus’ home.”</p><p>Kassandra rolled onto her back and sighed contentedly.</p><p>“A good story. In spite of that malaka oracle and Andromeda’s horrible parents. What happened to her father?”</p><p>Helene shook her head.</p><p>“I never heard.”</p><p>“Well, still a good story.” Kassandra turned towards her and grinned. “Thank you for telling it to me.”</p><p>Helene felt herself flushing again and nodded shyly, glad of the darkness.</p><p>“You’d never heard it before?”</p><p>“No.” Kassandra was silent for a few moments before continuing. “When I was very young I was trained in the Spartan way. We had no time for stories like those. Only tales of courageous warriors, like Leonidas. And later,” she was silent so long this time that Helene began to think she wouldn’t finish the thought. “Later I was on my own.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ikaros gave her enough of a warning that Kassandra was able to pull up Phobos so that the lynx attacking him went wide. She leapt off the saddle and smacked Phobos’ rump, sending him running further up the trail. </p><p>She heard Helene’s horse scream, but by then, she was surrounded, and had to keep her attention on the three cats circling her. Make that four. Malaka! She hated lynxes. They were fast, vicious, and they always travelled in packs. Just when you thought you were done with them, you found another leaping onto your back. </p><p>By the time she was able to take breath again, her trail littered with eight or nine cooling carcasses, she realized she was several hundred feet from where she’d started, and she couldn’t hear Helene or her horse anymore.</p><p>“Malaka!”</p><p>She sprinted back up the trail, spear still in her hand, until she came on Helene’s horse lying dead on the side of the trail. She knelt beside it and examined the ground, finding signs of Helene’s retreat in the opposite direction. She jumped to her feet and followed the trail towards a stand of nearby trees. </p><p>Nearing the little thicket, she came across a dead lynx, an arrow through its throat.</p><p>“Helene?” she called out softly.</p><p>Her response was a growl, which was lucky for her, because it gave her enough warning to duck as the lynx leapt at her. She raised her spear as it flew past her and she felt it catch. The cat screeched and landed on its side, its guts spilling out. With a quick thrust of the spear to its throat, Kassandra put it out of its misery, and turned back towards the trees.</p><p>“Kassandra?” Helene’s voice was closer than she’d expected, and higher. She looked up to find her crouched on a branch of a nearby tree, clutching the main trunk tightly.</p><p>“Helene!” Kassandra looked up admirningly. “How did you get up there?” The tree had no low branches Helene could have used to help her up.</p><p>Helene laughed shakily.</p><p>“Sheer panic? I don’t know. I dropped my bow, and I… I don’t think I can get down again.”</p><p>Kassandra leaned down to pick up Helene’s fallen bow and move it out of the way, then stood beneath Helene and lifted her arms.</p><p>“I’ll catch you. Jump.”</p><p>Helene looked down at her nervously. Kassandra smiled encouragingly.</p><p>“Do you trust me?”</p><p>Helene’s nod was immediate and Kassandra felt a flush of pleasure.</p><p>“Good. Take a deep breath.” Kassandra demonstrated, and Helene followed her example. “And let go.”</p><p>Helene released the trunk and let herself slide forward off the branch. Kassandra easily caught her by the waist, and lowered her gently to the ground. </p><p>“Are you hurt?” Slipping her hands from her waist to her hands and up her arms, Kassandra looked Helene over carefully, hissing in sympathy at what looked like gravel rash on her shoulder.</p><p>“Only where I landed when I fell off the horse.” She looked back towards the road and her dead horse. “I’m afraid he took the brunt of the attack.”</p><p>Relieved, Kassandra wrapped her arms around Helene and pulled her close, resting her cheek against the top of her head.</p><p>“Better the horse than you. You’re sure you have no other injuries?”</p><p>“I’m fine.” Helene’s voice was muffled, with her face pressed to Kassandra’s breastplate. Though any hug from Kassandra was not to be missed, she had quickly decided that unarmoured hugs were far superior. Distance, though. She had to remember to keep her distance. “Really, Kassandra, I’m fine. You’re the one who’s bleeding! On me!” </p><p>“Sorry!” Kassandra pulled back looking embarrassed. </p><p>Helene started her own examination of the other woman, all business now, taking in a number of scratches and bites. “Not too bad. None of them need stitches, but they will need to be cleaned. I need my things.” She took Kassandra’s hand and led her back towards her horse. With Kassandra’s help, she got her packs off the dead animal, sat her down on a folded blanket and started treating her wounds. </p><p>Kassandra glanced back down the trail. </p><p>“I don’t want to stay in the area too long. There might be more of these cats around. But we should at least skin them before we go. Those are good pelts.” She made to stand up, but flopped back down when Helene pressed down firmly on her shoulder.</p><p>“When I’ve finished, misthios.”</p><p>Kassandra’s lips twitched, but she ducked her head meekly.</p><p>“Yes, healer.”</p>
<hr/><p>“We’re going to be much slower on foot.” Helene winced as Kassandra picked bits of grit out of her shoulder.</p><p>“On foot?”</p><p>“My horse is dead, and yours,” Helene gestured around at the otherwise empty trail.</p><p>Kassandra smirked, put one hand over Helene’s ear, and gave a piercing whistle, before returning to her examination of Helene’s shoulder. After a minute or so Helene started to hear hoofbeats approaching, and a short time later, saw Phobos trotting up the trail towards them.</p><p>Kassandra stood to greet him. He whickered softly at her as he approached, then neighed nervously at the smell of blood.</p><p>“Ela, ela. You’re ok.” She patted his neck gently and pressed their foreheads together for a few moments, before returning to Helene, who’d been watching wide-eyed.</p><p>“He knows to run far enough to get out of danger, but still stay close enough to come back when it’s safe.” She crouched down next to Helene again, rinsed her hands with a bit of water from her water skin and took the little pot of ointment Helene held out to her.</p>
<hr/><p>With time taken to skin the lynxes, it was well after dark by the time they reached the next town. Kassandra followed her ears towards the sound of ringing and found a blacksmith working late, who was delighted to buy the dozen or so lynx pelts from her, and gave them directions to the nearest inn.</p><p>Kassandra looked down at herself in distaste.</p><p>“I still stink of blood. A visit to the bathhouse would be in order, I think, once we have Phobos settled for the night.”</p><p>Helene nodded silently. Once the energy of her panic had ebbed, so had her strength, and for the last hour or so, she’d been more or less leaning back against Kassandra, the other woman’s arm around her waist the only thing keeping her steady on Phobos’ back. When they reached the stables attached to the inn, Kassandra once more had to lift Helene down. Without her help she would have simply fallen off Phobos’ back.</p><p>Kassandra quickly made arrangements with the innkeeper for a room for the night, a meal to be prepared for them, and directions to the nearest bathhouse. Luckily, the latter turned out to be attached to the inn.</p><p>Cleaned up and no longer stinking of dead lynx, Kassandra could see that the young healer was flagging fast. She urged her to eat some of the cheese, olives and flatbread the innkeeper had left out for them, knowing that at least a part of her exhaustion could be put down to hunger. Satisfying her own hunger, and satisfied as well that Helene had taken at least some nourishment, she stood and led the way to the room the innkeeper had pointed out to her.</p><p>Opening the door she stopped short with a muttered “malaka!” and almost immediately felt something hit her in the back followed by a squeak and a thump. She looked back to find Helene looking up at her blearily from the floor. </p><p>“Sorry!” She hurried to help her up, then turned back to the room, sighed and gently pushed Helene towards the bed. The only bed. The bed that would have been barely big enough for her alone, much less for two people to share. As Helene sat on the edge of the bed with a huge yawn, Kassandra turned to her pack, pulled out her blanket and started to lay it on the floor.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Helene blinked at her owlishly.</p><p>“I’m going to sleep on the floor.” </p><p>Helene frowned at her.</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Well…” Kassandra gestured at the bed. “There’s only one bed.” She shook her head. “Should have been more specific when I talked to the innkeeper.”</p><p>“We can share.”</p><p>“It’s fine. I’m used to sleeping on the ground.”</p><p>“I don’t intend to take advantage of you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”</p><p>Kassandra gaped at her, unable to respond for several seconds, and finally gave a bark of laughter.</p><p>“Come on. You’ve had as long a day as I have. Probably longer, since you killed all those lynxes and I just hid in a tree.”</p><p>With a sigh, Kassandra gave in. Helene had already curled up at the far side of the bed, with her back to Kassandra, and by her breathing, was fast slipping into sleep. Kassandra folded up the blanket, and, sorely tempted to curl up around the other woman, very deliberately lay down with her back to Helene, expecting to lie awake for a long while.</p><p>She woke with a jolt, she wasn’t sure how much later, from a dream about falling. She rolled onto her back and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the hammering of her heart. She froze when Helene stirred next to her. She hadn’t meant to wake her.</p><p>“Bad dream?”</p><p>“Uh…”</p><p>Before she could fully articulate an answer, the other woman rolled over, curled against her side and rested an arm against her stomach, patting her gently.</p><p>“S’ok, Theo. S’just a dream”</p><p>Still trying to bring her breathing and heartbeat back to normal, Kassandra resigned herself to a sleepless rest of the night. The nightmares didn't come anywhere near as frequently as they once did, but when they did, any chance of sleep for the rest of the night was effectively gone. But to her own surprise, she found herself drifting off to sleep again almost immediately.Her last thought before she slipped into unconsciousness was, “who in Hades is Theo?”</p><p>They got a late start the next morning, having first to find another horse for Helene.</p><p>Kassandra managed to keep her curiosity in check during the first part of their trek that day. But chewing on a piece of bread when they stopped for a meal, she could no longer keep the question to herself.</p><p>“Who’s Theo?”</p><p>Helene froze with a piece of bread and cheese halfway to her mouth.</p><p>“Where did you hear that name?”</p><p>“You muttered it in your sleep last night.”</p><p>Helene sighed and fiddled with the food in her hand. </p><p>“My brother. One of my brothers. He was the one closest to me in age.”</p><p>“Was?” Kassandra asked hesitantly.</p><p>“He joined the army. They all did. I’m the only child my parents have left now.”</p><p>“I’m sorry.” </p><p>Helene looked bleakly out across the fields next to them.</p><p>“I sometimes wonder if my parents would have been so eager to marry me off to Arktos if any of my brothers had still been around.”</p><p>Kassandra put a hand on Helene’s shoulder.</p><p>“I’m sorry. And I’m sorry to have brought it up. It can’t be easy.”</p><p>Helene shook her head.</p><p>“It’s not. But I don’t mind remembering him, even though it hurts.” She glanced over at Kassandra and gave her a small smile. “You remind me of him sometimes. I always used to go to him when I hurt myself, not to our mother.” She’d never shivered at his touch, though, the way she had with Kassandra the day before, she thought suddenly.</p><p>Kassandra returned the smile, though her heart was sinking. She reminded Helene of her brother. Good. Great. She sighed and returned her attention to the remains of her meal. She would just need to do a better job controlling her feelings for the young healer, that was all. And no more flirting! The last thing she wanted was to make her uncomfortable with unwanted advances.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hate lynxes so much. I swear I have died more frequently to lynx attacks than to boss fights.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As interesting as she found consulting with priests and other healers in the Delphi compound, Helene had found her thoughts turning constantly to Kassandra during her time there. The misthios’ meeting with the historian, Herodotos, had been fortuitous. Helene might have mentioned divine intervention, had Kassandra not been so adamant in her general distaste for the gods. Kassandra had gently suggested that Helene might be safer waiting for her in Delphi while she went about the tasks required for her to gain entrance to the meeting of the top level Cult of Kosmos leaders.</p><p>She had returned furious from a mission to a nearby fort, excoriating Elpenor’s name for his cowardice in using a body double to draw her away from him. And her grim satisfaction when she had finally displayed the mask and robes to Herodotos had sent a shiver down Helene’s back.</p><p>After several weeks, Helene now found herself sitting with Herodotos near, but out or sight of, what he had told Kassandra was the entrance to the Cult of Kosmos’ headquarters, waiting for Kassandra to re-emerge.</p><p>“Won’t they recognize the mask that she’s wearing, and realize she’s not Elpenor?” Helene gnawed on her thumb nervously and glanced over at the historian.</p><p>“From what I have learned, there is enough turnover in the Cult, enough reuse of old masks, that they will not question her presence.” He cleared his throat. “As long as she does not draw attention to herself.” </p><p>Helene gave a nervous laugh.</p><p>“Have you met Kassandra? She’s hard to miss.”</p><p>Herodotos chuckled.</p><p>“I trust in our friend’s abilities. Though she is naturally larger than life, she can be subtle when the occasion calls for it.”</p><p>“Even against these cultists? They sound terrifying.”</p><p>Herodotos patted her shoulder comfortingly.</p><p>“They are no more than human. Devious, rich, most of them, powerful and greedy, but human, with all the failings inherent in our kind. If anything, it is they who should fear our friend, don’t you think?”</p><p>With this comforting thought in mind, Helene went back to her silent, if still restless waiting, until the sound of footsteps approaching the alcove where they’d secluded themselves brought both of them to their feet. The masked figure that appeared drew a gasp from Helene, which quickly changed to a sigh of relief as the mask was removed to reveal Kassandra.</p><p>“You’re alive!” The relief in Herodotos’ voice, belied the confidence he had projected while they were waiting.</p><p>But Helene didn’t have time to put much thought into Herodotos, right now, because this was not the Kassandra who had entered the Cult’s lair. Helene took a step closer, frowning. She appeared to be in a state of shock. Helene closed the distance between them and took Kassandra’s face in her hands, tilting her head so she could look in her eyes.</p><p>“Are you injured?” Her pupils were both the same size, and an appropriate size for the amount of ambient light. That was good. Not a head injury, then. “Kassandra?”</p><p>Kassandra stared blankly down at her for a few moments, before turning her gaze to Herodotos. Helene let her hands fall from Kassandra’s face, allowing the misthios to step past her and sink, apparently exhausted, onto the bench where they’d been waiting. </p><p>“There were people down there. I couldn’t see their faces.” She gestured with the mask, then let her hand drop and shook her head. “Herodotos, they control all the Greek world. Everything.”</p><p>Herodotos looked at her gravely.</p><p>“I see. It’s worse than I thought.”</p><p>“There’s more.” Kassandra took a deep breath. “They have a weapon.”</p><p>“What… kind of weapon?”</p><p>“A soldier. Stronger and more ferocious than any I’ve ever seen.” She glanced between Herodotos and Helene, the wide-eyed shock back on her face. “It’s my brother.” She frowned suddenly, as though disbelieving the words that had come from her own mouth.</p><p>In the discussion that followed, with Herodotos trying to convince Kassandra that their best course of action was to go to Athens, Helene had eyes only for Kassandra. To learn that her own sibling was involved in the group that was hunting her family, must have been a shock indeed. </p><p>And when Kassandra interrupted the argument to demand the return of her spear, Helene could see that she was truly on edge. She reached down to lift the bundle of Kassandra’s clothes, armour and weapons, staggering slightly under the weight. Clutching the bundle to her chest, with one hand wrapped around the hilt of her broken spear, Kassandra seemed to relax somewhat, enough to finish the discussion, and agree to head to Athens for information on her mother’s whereabouts.</p><p>“Good, now that’s decided, let’s get you something to eat, and a bed. We’ll set out tomorrow.”</p><p>Herodotos opened his mouth as if to argue, but Helene shot him such a look that he closed his mouth and nodded instead.</p><p>“As you say, healer. I’ll leave you to change, and meet you first thing in the morning for the journey back to your ship.”</p><p>Once out of the cultist robe and back in her own tunic, Helene led Kassandra back to the camp they’d been staying in, stopping at various stalls along the way to pick up some food for their evening meal. </p><p>Some time later, lying side by side on their bedrolls, she finally dared to ask one of the many questions she had.</p><p>“How long since you last saw your brother?”</p><p>“Twenty years.”</p><p>Helene frowned.</p><p>“But… you’re… how old?”</p><p>Kassandra stared blankly at the awning cloth above them, her hands clasped on her stomach.</p><p>“I told you once that I was raised in the Spartan way, when I was young, didn’t I?”</p><p>Helene nodded.</p><p>“I was born in Sparta. My mother, Myrrine, was the daughter of Leonidas.”</p><p>“Leonidas was your grandfather?” Helene sat up in surprise. </p><p>Kassandra made a noise of agreement. </p><p>“We had a happy life, made even happier when I was about six, by the birth of my brother, Alexios. But it didn’t last. After his birth, my parents consulted the oracle, the Pythia.” There was venom in Kassandra’s voice as she named the oracle. “On the cult’s orders, she said that my brother would cause the destruction of Sparta and should be destroyed.”</p><p>Helene listened in horror as Kassandra continued her tale.</p><p>“They took us up to Mount Taygetos. It took two soldiers to hold my mother back. I can still hear her screams, as the priest held my brother up. There was no one holding my father. I was certain he would intervene and make them stop, but his duty to Sparta was stronger than his love for his family. I managed to get away from the solder who’d been holding me and ran to save my brother, but I ended up pushing the priest who was holding him over the mountain instead, with my brother.”</p><p>Kassandra took a ragged breath. Helene’s heart ached for her.</p><p>“The other priests demanded my death as punishment for murdering the head priest. They demanded that my father throw me off the mountain to pay for my dishonor. And… he did. He took me by the arm, held me over the edge… and let go.”</p><p>Kassandra dug the heels of her hands into her eyes, as though trying to block the images in her mind.</p><p>“He survived, though. Somehow he survived the fall, just as I did. But the cult found him and turned him into a weapon against his own family.”</p><p>With a shuddering sigh, Kassandra curled onto her side, her knees drawn up against her chest. Helene could guess that the events of the day had broken open the walls Kassandra had built around the more traumatic memories of her childhood. </p><p>After a moment of hesitation, she placed a hand tentatively on Kassandra’s arm. Kassandra clutched at her hand, pulling her closer. Helene lay down behind her, offering the only comfort she could.</p><hr/><p>When Kassandra woke from a deep sleep the next morning, her first thoughts were of the events of the previous day. Her next thought was surprise that she had not dreamed of Mount Taygetos, or of Alexios. So preoccupied was she, that it was several moments before she realized she was lying across someone else’s body, her head on their chest, and their fingers trailing gently up and down her back. She stopped breathing, and the hand paused.</p><p>“Good morning.”</p><p>Helene. She remembered now, the other woman holding her as her mind was bombarded by memories of the past, memories she did her best to suppress. She pushed herself up on one elbow and looked down at the young healer, who smiled hesitantly up at her, tousled and sleepy-eyed. She realized she’d been staring too long, when Helene’s smile faltered and her cheeks flushed. She also suddenly realized how close she was to the other woman. She cleared her throat.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”</p><p>Helene silenced her with a smile and a light touch to her shoulder.</p><p>“How did you sleep?”</p><p>Kassandra sat up and stretched.</p><p>“Better than I expected, or than I had any right to.”</p><p>Helene wrinkled her nose and sat up as well.</p><p>“I’ll have to disagree with you on that last point. Though I am not primarily a healer of the mind, I do know that a restful night’s sleep can be an excellent medicine.” She paused for a moment, looking uncertain, opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Kassandra?” Helene was hesitant. “If he was so young the last time you saw him, how do you know this man, this soldier, is your brother?”</p><p>Kassandra frowned thoughtfully, as she remembered the chamber below Delphi.</p><p>“There was a… device… down in the temple. A pyramid made of light and… you know that golden triangle I found on Elpenor?” She glanced at Helene, who nodded. “The pyramid was covered in them. But,” she sighed and shook her head. “It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. There was no framework. The only thing holding the triangles on was… light!” Her frown deepened as she thought back to the device, finally shaking herself out of her thoughts. “We touched the device at the same time, he and I, and it showed us memories of our childhood, and Mount Taygetos. It’s him,” she finished simply. “Deimos is Alexios. And I think he recognized me as well.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite Herodotos’ assurances that all she would need to do to find information about her mother in Athens was to attend one of Perikles’ symposia, the matter had been nowhere near that simple.</p><p>Perikles had feared the reaction of the people if it became known that he had invited an outsider to a symposium, thereby excluding a citizen of Athens from the guest list. Herodotos had suggested that if Kassandra did a few jobs for Perikles, it would become known she was working for him, and therefore it would be more natural for her to be seen at the symposium. Thank you, Herodotos.</p><p>Kassandra shook her head. She shouldn’t be surprised. If there was one thing her career as a misthios had taught her, it was that everything and everyone had a price. Of course there would be a price for attending this symposium. </p><p>A short sea voyage, several dozen venomous snakes and a bit of cheating later, Kassandra had her invitation. Now she found herself approaching Perikles’ villa, with Helene at her side.</p><p>“I’ll just go to the agora while you’re in there,” Helene said, staring wide-eyed at the mansion they were nearing.</p><p>“What? Why? I thought you were coming in with me.”</p><p>Helene shook her head vehemently.</p><p>“Into a room full of strangers? Who aren’t patients? No. No, thank you. Besides, I’m pretty sure the invitation was just for you. Not for you and a friend.”</p><p>Kassandra sighed and shrugged.</p><p>“You’re probably right. But I could use a friend in there. It’s not exactly my kind of evening either.”</p><p>“Kassandra! It’s you!” </p><p>They had stopped at the entrance to the villa, when a small blur blew past the guards on duty at the gate and launched itself at Kassandra.</p><p>“Phoibe?” She caught the girl out of reflex and hugged her tightly, before pulling back enough to look at her severely. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“You said you weren’t coming back to Kephallonia, so I decided to leave too.” </p><p>Phoibe grinned brightly at her, and Kassandra pulled her back in for another hug, before setting her back on her feet.</p><p>“A friend from Kephallonia?” Helene was looking interestedly between Kassandra and Phoibe.</p><p>“Oh! Helene, this is Phoibe. She’s my… I was… I helped look after her after her parents died. Phoibe, this is Helene. She’s the healer on the Adrestia.”</p><p>“Kassandra taught me everything I know about archery and hunting. And she promised to put in a good word with Zeus so that I can have a pet eagle too one day, right Kassandra?”</p><p>Glancing between the two, Helene was struck by the naked hero worship on the girl’s face, and the gentleness of Kassandra’s smile as she ruffled the top of her head, causing the girl to squirm away, smoothing her hair back down.</p><p>“Ey! I’m on duty right now, I have to look good.”</p><p>Kassandra blinked.</p><p>“On duty?” She suddenly seemed to realize where Phoibe had appeared from. “You work for Perikles?”</p><p>“No!” Phoibe rolled her eyes, as though that were the dumbest thing anyone had ever thought of. “I work for Aspasia. She sent me to collect you so I can show you where to change.”</p><p>Kassandra glanced at Helene with a look of near panic. It was an expression Helene had never seen on Kassandra’s face. Not even when facing down three attacking pirate ships. Simultaneously. During a storm. But apparently, the thought of changing clothes, was a step too far. Helene smiled at her and shrugged.</p><p>“Well, it looks like you will have a friend on the inside after all. So you definitely don’t need to break the rules and sneak me in with you.”</p><p>Phoibe turned a scandalized look on Kassandra.</p><p>“What? No! Invitations are for the person they’re given to. Perikles’ symposia are very exclusive.”</p><p>“But why do I need to change? I wore my nicest armour.” She sounded positively plaintive.</p><p>“You don’t look like an Athenian. They like it when you fit in.”</p><p>Helene patted Kassandra’s arm comfortingly.</p><p>“You’ll be fine. Big, strong warrior like you? Even without your armour, no one in there would dare look at you cross-eyed. I’ll see you later. Try to have fun. And don’t kill anyone.”</p><p>Kassandra saw the guards at the entrance side-eyeing her at Helene’s parting words, and she drew herself up to her full stature, making the smaller one take a nervous step back. She turned back to Phoibe.</p><p>“What am I supposed to change into?”</p><p>“Aspasia arranged for some party clothes for you. Come on!” Phoibe took her hand and tugged the reluctant Kassandra through the grounds and into the villa, where she led her into a small side chamber.  “Here.” She held out a rich red bundle of cloth to Kassandra. </p><p>Kassandra put the bundle down and started unbuckling her armour pieces.</p><p>“How did you get here? To Athens, I mean.”</p><p>“Well,” Phoibe turned away to reach for a pair of sandals that had been tucked under a bench. “I’d been saving up my drachmae from all the jobs I did.”</p><p>“And you used it to pay your passage on a ship to Athens?”</p><p>“Nnnooo,” Phoibe looked a little shifty, and quickly continued. “I needed that money for after I got here. I couldn’t spend it all to get here!” She placed the sandals next to the pile of armour Kassandra had been making. “I sort of sneaked onto a ship that was coming here. No one saw me!” she assured her.</p><p>Kassandra gave a quiet huff of laughter.</p><p>“Maybe you can give Helene some tips for next time.”</p><p>Phoibe looked confused.</p><p>“She stowed away on the Adrestia, but she was found after about a day.”</p><p>“And you hired her?” Phoibe sounded scandalized.</p><p>Kassandra paused in the act of pulling her tunic off over her head and looked down at Phoibe.</p><p>“What, did you expect me to throw her overboard as a sacrifice to Poseidon?”</p><p>“No, I guess not.”</p><p>“So, anyway. You made it to Athens. How did you end up working for Aspasia?” She held up the red fabric, trying to figure out which way round it went.</p><p>“Oh, uh… well, I kind of became the leader of a little gang of orphans, and we ended up trying to cheat her. But we didn’t know it was her at the time!” Phoibe held out a length of braided rope to hold the dress closed, and a square of fabric to use as a sash.</p><p>“And then you… convinced her to hire you?”</p><p>“No! That was all her idea.”</p><p>Kassandra smiled and shook her head.</p><p>“You’ve certainly done well for yourself. I’m glad you got here safely.” She adjusted the dress a little and looked expectantly at Phoibe. “How does it look?’</p><p>Phoibe smiled.</p><p>“Now you look like everyone else.”</p><p>Kassandra made a face.</p><p>“You say that like it’s a good thing. I feel uncomfortable in this.” She squirmed, trying to get the garment to sit more comfortably on her. “And it’s so long. How am I supposed to run without tripping over it?” </p><p>“It is a good thing. It’s the easiest way to get them to take you seriously. Trust me. And anyway, you’re not going to be running. You’re going to be talking.”</p><p>Kassandra sighed, turned back to the pile she had left on the bench and reached for her spear.</p><p>“Hey, you can’t take any weapons in there!”</p><p>Kassandra turned to her in shock.</p><p>“No weapons? Not even…” she rummaged through the pile and pulled out a dagger the length of Phoibe’s arm and held it up questioningly.</p><p>Phoibe crossed her arms.</p><p>“No weapons!” she said firmly. “Now hurry up and go in. Don’t worry. I’ll look after your things.” As Kassandra sighed and walked past her, she suddenly reached out and tugged at her hand. “Just don’t leave without saying bye, ok?”</p><p>Kassandra nodded and smiled fondly at her. </p><p>“Of course not.”</p><hr/><p>It had only been two or three hours, but Kassandra felt like she’d already spent entire weeks at Perikles’ villa. Finishing her conversation with Perikles, she made her way back downstairs, pausing in the courtyard to figure out which door she’d entered through and finding her way back to the chamber where she’d changed.</p><p>She found Phoibe waiting for her inside. The girl looked her over critically.</p><p>“You look tired,” she said baldly, with the absolute honesty of a child.</p><p>Kassandra rubbed her face, then started pulling off her borrowed clothes.</p><p>“I am. But mostly of conversation. I don’t think I’ve ever talked that much in my entire life.”</p><p>“And you didn’t need a weapon after all, did you? I told you! So you’re leaving now?” she asked wistfully.</p><p>Kassandra nodded distractedly.</p><p>“What are you going to do next?”</p><p>“Well, I got the names of three people to talk to. One is in Argolis, another in Korinthia, and the third is on an island called Keos.” She frowned thoughtfully down at the bracer she was buckling. “I think I’ll go to Argolis first and talk to a physician. He may be able to help me.”</p><p>Phoibe looked alarmed.</p><p>“Are you sick? You’ve never been sick. What’s wrong with you?”</p><p>Kassandra smiled and patted her shoulder.</p><p>“No, I’m fine. I just need to talk to him.”</p><p>“Ok, good. It would be weird if you were sick.”</p><p>Back in her own clothes and armour, Kassandra made her way out of the villa, Phoibe walking with her, chatting away.</p><p>“And Aspasia told me that she has a mission for me. Athens is so much nicer than Kephallonia. Especially because it means you’ll probably come back and visit again, right? Because you don’t hate it like Kephallonia.”</p><p>Kassandra smiled down at her.</p><p>“I’ll definitely be back.”</p><hr/><p>“One of the guests at the symposium suggested talking to Hippokrates, in Argolis.”</p><p>Helene gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, stopping short in the middle of the agora. She seemed to be practically vibrating with excitement. Kassandra grinned at her.</p><p>“I take it you’d like to come with me when I talk to him?”</p><p>Helene nodded vigorously, eyes bright and eager.</p><p>“My teacher, Eudoxos, talked about him all the time. He was the first one to apply a methodical outlook to medicine. He believes that we have to do more than pray for healing. The gods gave us knowledge and strength, and if we don’t use what they’ve given us, why should the gods help us?”</p><p>Kassandra smiled broadly as Helene continued expounding excitedly on the virtues of Hippokrates all the way back to the Adrestia.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To Helene’s delight, she was able to spend a couple of days working with the physician in Argolis, while Kassandra infiltrated a nearby fort to recover the notes that had been stolen from him. </p><p>“I’ve often heard that you shouldn’t meet your heroes, because they’ll often not live up to your expectations,” Kassandra commented as they left Hippokrates’ camp on their way to the Temple of Asklepios. “But it seems to me you’re just as happy now that you’ve met him as you were leading up to it.”</p><p>“He knows so much, Kassandra!” Helene marveled. “I only hope that some day I can become as good a physician as he is.”</p><p>“I think you’re pretty good already.” Kassandra smiled at her and Helene blushed and ducked her head. “Are you excited to visit the temple as well?”</p><p>Helene shrugged noncommittally.</p><p>“I’m sure it’ll be very interesting. It’s just that there’s rarely anything new to be learned there. They stick to tried and true methods, and don’t experiment with new solutions, even if those tried and true methods don’t actually work very well. They just say that the gods must have decided not to intervene, or that the person must have angered the gods, instead of trying to find another way to help them.” She looked around suddenly, as though worried someone might be listening. “Don’t tell anyone I said that, though. I wouldn’t want to get in trouble with the priests. Or with that angry priestess of Hera.” She shuddered at the memory of the woman, Chrysis, who had been looking for Hippokrates when they first arrived at his clinic.</p><p>“Don’t worry. They won’t hear it from me.” Kassandra assured her with a smile.</p><hr/><p>With Helene’s opinions fresh in her mind, Kassandra could see that the priests at the Temple of Asklepios did seem much more focused on a spiritual solution to their patients’ ills than a physical one. The emphasis seemed to be on prayer and sacrifices. </p><p>She wondered what her mother would have seen, arriving with her battered baby brother, after having been turned away by a young and overwhelmed Hippokrates. She shivered thinking of what remained of the record of her visit.</p><p>“...of Sparta. Came here with child. Sought pity from the gods.”</p><p>Clutching the blanket the record keeper Timoxenos had given her, Alexios’ blanket, she went in search of Helene. </p><p>She found her observing a group of priests silently. The contrast to her animated discussions with Hippokrates at his camp was stark. Helene looked up, seeming to feel Kassandra’s gaze on her, and started making her way towards her.</p><p>Kassandra led her out of the temple. A similar unease seemed to have fallen over both of them. They remained silent until well beyond the temple grounds.</p><p>“What did you find?” Helene finally asked.</p><p>“That priestess, Chrysis, she took Alexios. After the priests here gave up and told my mother that my brother was dead, she took him.”</p><p>“So, she must be part of the cult?”</p><p>Kassandra nodded.</p><p>“And your mother?”</p><p>Kassandra sighed and looked down at the blanket she still clutched.</p><p>“Nobody there knew where she went after leaving the temple. Maybe Chrysis will know. If she’ll talk.”</p><p>“So we’re going to the Temple of Hera now?”</p><p>Kassandra shook her head.</p><p>“I was told of an altar where people take sick children. They said that would be where I’d find her.”</p><hr/><p>Helene watched Kassandra as she sat cross-legged with her back to a tree, eyes closed. She had seen her do this before, but still had trouble understanding how the other woman could send her mind into Ikaros and observe through his eyes. It didn’t help that Kassandra herself didn’t really understand how she did this, only that she could. </p><p>After a minute or so of silence, broken only by the cries of an infant nearby, Kassandra took a deep breath and opened her eyes.</p><p>“It’s an ambush. There are four guards hiding in the bushes outside the building. If I circle around behind them, I should be able to take them out one at a time, without alerting Chrysis.”</p><p>Kassandra led Helene closer to the building, and left her hiding behind a large tree within sight of it, where she would be able to provide cover with her bow, if Kassandra’s plan failed, and she was seen by the ambushers.</p><p>Slipping from cover to cover, Kassandra made her way around until she could come up behind the first ambusher, who she could now see was wearing the distinctive armour of a Cult of Kosmos guard. Drawing her spear, she crept up behind him until she could slip an arm around his neck to cover his mouth, while with the other, she slit his throat, holding him until he stopped struggling, and lowering him quietly to the ground. </p><p>She repeated the maneuver three more times, then, spear still held ready, slowly stood out of cover and looked around. Satisfied that she had indeed found and killed all the ambushers, she made her way back to Helene.</p><p>“I think it might be better if I went in alone,” she said quietly as they approached the building. </p><p>Helene opened her mouth to protest.</p><p>“They’re so obsessed with my family, my bloodline. I think she’ll be more likely to talk if it’s just me,” Kassandra explained. “Wait just outside the door, where you’ll still be able to hear. Please?”</p><p>Helene nodded and squeezed her hand.</p><p>“I’ll be right here if you need me.”</p><p>Lightly squeezing her fingers in return, Kassandra took a deep breath and entered.</p><p>Listening to their conversation through the open doorway, Helene at first thought that the priestess was afflicted with madness. But as she continued speaking, boasting of torturing the infant Alexios in order to teach him to welcome pain, she realized that this was not madness. This woman was in full possession of her mind and faculties. What she was, was evil. </p><p>She could hear the anguish and rage in Kassandra’s voice as the conversation continued, and was on the point of entering the building already, when she heard Chrysis’ parting words.</p><p>“You are a killer, just like your brother. Here, let me show you.”</p><p>Helene ran into the room just in time to see Chrysis toss a small pot towards the altar, on which the baby they had heard crying still lay, fussing softly. The pot burst into flames on impact and the baby started to wail again. She saw Kassandra hesitate, glancing between the infant and the fleeing priestess.</p><p>“Go!” she yelled at Kassandra. “You have to stop her! I’ll get the baby!”</p><p>Kassandra shot her a grateful nod and sprinted out of the building after Chrysis. Helene scooped the frightened and wailing infant up in her arms. The door ahead of her, through which Kassandra and Chrysis had gone, was engulfed in flames. The priestess must have spilled oil or fuel in the room ahead of time in order for the flames to have grown so quickly, she thought.</p><p>She turned back towards the door through which she had entered, and was relieved to see that the flames had not reached it yet. Coughing, eyes streaming, and clutching the child to her chest, she stumbled out the door into the clear air. </p><p>“Helene!”</p><p>She turned back towards the burning building.</p><p>“Over here!” she called back. </p><p>Kassandra came jogging around the side of the building, a look of relief coming over her face when she saw Helene and the child. </p><p>“Did you get her?”</p><p>Kassandra nodded grimly. </p><p>“Good. Uh, Kassandra? What are we supposed to do with this baby?”</p><p>“Oh!” Kassandra blinked suddenly and turned back the way she had come, stopping as a weeping woman came around the side of the building. “I found them,” she called out unnecessarily to the woman. “The baby’s mother,” she explained to Helene.</p><p>Helene handed the infant back to its grateful mother, astounded to hear her still singing Chrysis’ praises, even with the altar on which her child had been laid in flames behind her. They watched the woman leave in dumbfounded silence.</p><p>“I heard her mention Korinthia. That woman Alkibiades mentioned to you was in Korinth, right?”</p><p>Kassandra nodded. </p><p>“Anthousa, yes.” She rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Off to Korinthia.”</p><p>Helene looked worriedly at Kassandra.</p><p>“Are you ok?”</p><p>They walked silently for a few moments, Kassandra staring moodily at the ground.</p><p>“She was right about one thing.”</p><p>“Who?”</p><p>“Chrysis. I am a killer. Everywhere I go, I leave death behind me.”</p><p>“Hey!” Helene took Kassandra’s arm and pulled her to a stop. “You are nothing like what she implied. You’re…” she frowned trying to think of a way to explain it. “You’re like a scalpel. A sharp, precise instrument, that can remove a cancer without damaging the rest of the body.” After a moment’s silence, she continued hesitantly. “The… the cancer is the Cult of Kosmos, and the body is the Greek world.”</p><p>She was relieved when Kassandra gave a huff of laughter and threw an arm over her shoulder, starting them walking again.</p><p>“So I am a killer. But a good one?”</p><p>Helene shrugged.</p><p>“Someone has to deal with these people. I’d rather it was someone like you, who cares about the innocent, who has a personal stake, than someone who would just kill indiscriminately.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Their search for Anthousa had taken them across Korinth and up to the Temple of Aphrodite on the Akrokorinth. Leaving the hill, Helene took a step closer to Kassandra so she could speak softly without others hearing her.</p><p>“That man everyone keeps mentioning, the Monger. Wasn’t that the man Chrysis said was supposed to stop your mother?”</p><p>Kassandra nodded.</p><p>“Another cult member, I’d guess. Less like some of the other cult members we’ve dealt with so far, and more like the Cyclops, back on Kephallonia, a bully and a thug. On a slightly larger scale.”</p><p>“So you’ll be able to do two things here in Korinth. Get more information about your mother, and deal with another cult member.”</p><p>Kassandra sucked air through her teeth thoughtfully.</p><p>“With any luck. Though if experience is anything to go by, it won’t be anywhere near as straightforward as just getting information, and killing a man.”</p><p>Approaching the Spring of Peirene, they began to see a number of well-dressed women watching them pass. </p><p>“The hetaerae?” Helene asked in a low voice.</p><p>Kassandra nodded, her eyes darting from one to another, and finally landing on a slightly older woman in a rich red peplos. The woman smiled at Kassandra as they neared her, interrupting her conversation with the woman next to her.</p><p>“So Kassandra has finally found us.”</p><p>Kassandra threw a quick glance towards Helene.</p><p>“You know me?”</p><p>“And you know her,” the woman she’d been talking with responded. “This is Anthousa.”</p><p>“We saw you help the worshipers at the Temple of Aphrodite. You’ve proven yourself a friend. And,” she gestured behind them, “someone has spoken very highly of you.”</p><p>“Surprise!”</p><p>“Phoibe?” Kassandra felt a pang of dismay, which she quickly pushed down, hoping it hadn’t shown on her face. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“Aspasia sent me. Remember I told you she had a mission for me? This was it!” Phoibe suddenly threw her arms around Kassandra’s waist.</p><p>Returning her embrace, Kassandra threw a worried look at Anthousa.</p><p>“But why here? Korinth isn’t safe.”</p><p>“I had to let Anthousa know you were coming. I’m Aspasia’s emissary.” She enunciated the new word carefully and smiled proudly up at Kassandra.</p><p>“And now Kassandra and I have met,” Anthousa interjected. “And now we can talk, but we should do so inside. We are not the only ones who are watching.”</p>
<hr/><p>Following the conversation with Anthousa, Phoibe eagerly led Kassandra and Helene to the small room the leader of the hetaerae had made available to them for their stay.</p><p>“What are you going to do first, Kassandra? I can help you!”</p><p>“Phoibe,” Kassandra put her hands on the girl’s shoulders and turned her so they were facing each other, crouching down in front of her. “There is a killer loose in this city, a city with no morals to begin with. It’s not safe for you to follow me around like in Kephallonia.”</p><p>Phoibe rolled her eyes. </p><p>“The Monger’s just like the Cyclops, and you took care of him no problem! Besides, I’m a lot older than I was back in Kephallonia.” She hesitated, her face falling. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.”</p><p>“Oh, Phoibe, I am.” She leaned her forehead against the girl’s. “I just worry about you. This isn’t a nice place and I don’t want you to get hurt.” She pulled back to look Phoibe in the eyes. “Promise me you’ll be careful, Phoibe,”</p><p>The girl gave a put-upon sigh, but nodded.</p><p>“I promise.” Phoibe pulled away and plopped down on the nearest bed. “So, this woman you told Anthousa you’re looking for, who is she? A girlfriend?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, then looked apologetically at Helene. “Uh… former girlfriend?”</p><p>Kassandra rolled her eyes, completely missing Helene’s flustered look, and shook her head.</p><p>“No, she’s my mother.”</p><p>Phoibe made a face.</p><p>“But you don’t have a mother! Markos told me he raised you.”</p><p>“We… got separated… when I was young. I thought she was dead. But I found out that she might still be alive, and now I’m trying to find her.”</p>
<hr/><p>Helene remained near the Spring of Peirene with the hetaerae while Kassandra went into the city on Anthousa’s errands. The women were delighted to have a healer on site, and another woman at that, and Helene was kept busy during the misthios’ absence.</p><p>She was making up first aid and birth control packets to leave with the women, when Phoibe dashed into the courtyard, out of breath and dripping with sweat.</p><p>Helene looked up at her with a smile.</p><p>“Hey. What have you been up to?”</p><p>“Oh, uh… you know… exploring?”</p><p>To her surprise, the girl wouldn’t meet her eyes. </p><p>“Hmm. Well, I hope you didn’t get caught.”</p><p>Phoibe opened her mouth to answer, when they both heard heavy footsteps approaching. Phoibe gulped and turned towards the sound, as Kassandra came into view. She saw Phoibe immediately and Helene saw her face go from relief to anger.</p><p>She glowered at Phoibe in silence for several seconds, took a deep breath and gestured mutely, then turned and stalked off. As she passed Helene, who had watched this in silent amazement, she heard her mutter something about wringing Aspasia’s neck.</p><p>On the point of getting up and following Kassandra, Helene glanced back at Phoibe. The dismay on the girl’s face drew her in the opposite direction, as Phoibe flung herself down to a seat on the edge of a retaining wall. She was kicking her feet so vigorously against the it, that Helene feared for the health of both her heels and the wall.</p><p>She pretended not to see the girl scrubbing away the tracks of tears when she noticed Helene sitting down next to her.</p><p>“You know, I don’t know what exactly happened. But I can tell you one thing. She’s not angry with you.” Helene said gently.</p><p>Phoibe responded with a rude noise that made it very clear what she thought of that.</p><p>“I didn’t say that she’s not angry. Just that she’s not angry with you.” </p><p>She watched Phoibe’s brow furrow as she thought this over.</p><p>“Then who’s she mad at?”</p><p>“Well, what happened? Did something go wrong?”</p><p>Phoibe half shrugged.</p><p>“I was trying to help. But I got caught.”</p><p>“Ah.” Helene nodded. “Then, for starters, she’s probably angry with herself, for letting that happen. Seeing you in danger probably frightened her…”</p><p>“Kassandra’s never scared!” Phoibe cut in indignantly.</p><p>“Not for herself, no, she never seems to be. But she fears for the ones she cares about. And I know she cares a lot about you.”</p><p>Phoibe wiped her nose with the back of her hand, before taking the handkerchief Helene offered her.</p><p>“I know she’s also angry with Aspasia.” Helene continued.</p><p>Phoibe looked at her incredulously.</p><p>“At Aspasia? But she’s not even here!”</p><p>“She sent a child here, alone, to a very dangerous place.”</p><p>“I’m not a child! I can take care of myself!” Phoibe cried out in a disgruntled tone.</p><p>Helene nodded seriously.</p><p>“I know you can. You’re a sensible, capable girl. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re still young.” Helene paused for a moment, looking at Phoibe. “Do you know the sorts of errands my parents set me when I was about your age?” The girl didn’t respond, but Helene could see that she was listening intently. “Run across town to deliver a message to my uncle. Watch the stall at the agora for a couple of hours after lessons. Help stir the glazes my mother used for painting the pots my father made. My parents would have been horrified at the idea of using a child as a debt collector,” she saw the girl grimace at the reminder of some of the jobs she’d done for Markos, “or of sending one alone through a war zone to a dangerous city leagues away from home.”</p><p>“Kassandra did jobs like that all the time and she turned out great!”</p><p>“She did. But that doesn’t mean she had an easy or pleasant childhood. I think every parent hopes for a better life for their children than the one they had.”</p><p>“She’s not really…” Phoibe trailed off without finishing her thought.</p><p>“In the ways that matter, she is, don’t you think? I think she had hoped that, living with Aspasia, you would have a better childhood than the one she had with Markos, and not find yourself always in danger, like she did.”</p><p>“Phoibe?”</p><p>Kassandra had approached so quietly, that they both jumped when they heard her voice behind them. Phoibe stood and faced Kassandra silently for a moment, before running to her and wrapping her arms around her waist.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Kassandra.” With her face buried against Kassandra’s stomach, her voice came out muffled.</p><p>Kassandra gave Helene a startled and grateful look, even as her arms went around the girl. </p><p>“Ey, ey. It’s ok, little one. I’m just glad you’re safe.”</p>
<hr/><p>“How come you didn’t let Anthousa and the other hetaerae kill the Monger in public, Kassandra?” Phoibe asked as they boarded the Adrestia.</p><p>“Hold on a second, Phoibe.” Kassandra turned to Barnabas, who stood waiting for them at the top of the gangplank. “We have a passenger to Athens, Barnabas,” she said, putting a hand on Phoibe’s shoulder. “And from there, to Keos, as planned.”</p><p>Barnabas nodded and grinned broadly at Phoibe, before turning and beginning to bellow orders to the crew to get them under way. Leaving him to it, Kassandra led Phoibe below decks to stow her gear.</p><p>“The Monger was part of a bigger group. A very dangerous group.”</p><p>“The cult?”</p><p>Kassandra gave her a startled look and she shrugged.</p><p>“People forget I’m in the room sometimes. I hear things.”</p><p>Kassandra gave her a fondly exasperated smile.</p><p>“I’m sure Anthousa and the other women would have found it very satisfying to finish him off in public, but,” she sighed and shook her head. “I think that would have caused more problems in the long run. It was safer to deal with him quietly.”</p><p>Phoibe scrunched up her mouth and sighed.</p><p>“Could have been fun to watch.” </p><p>Kassandra opened the door to her cabin, and pointed to a chest in the corner.</p><p>“You can put your things in there.” She indicated the top bunk. “And you can sleep there.”</p><p>She smiled as Phoibe immediately clambered up to the top bunk to test out the bed.</p><p>“This is great! You’re sure you don’t mind me taking the top one?”</p><p>Kassandra grinned and shook her head.</p><p>“I always sleep in the bottom one.”</p><p>Phoibe looked at her incredulously.</p><p>“Why? The top bunk is so much better!”</p><p>“I’m too tall for the top bunk. I’d hit my head every time I sat up. Besides, I’d much rather save it for special guests, like you.” She reached out and tousled Phoibe’s hair. </p><p>“Kassandra?"</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“Is Helene your girlfriend?”</p><p>Kassandra gave her a surprised look.</p><p>“No!” It came out more sharply than she’d intended.</p><p>“How come?”</p><p>“Phoibe…”</p><p>“She likes you. And you obviously like her. So how come?”</p><p>“She doesn’t… I’m not…” Kassandra could feel her cheeks warming up. “What makes you think I like her?”</p><p>Phoibe rolled her eyes. </p><p>“Oh, please.”</p><p>Kassandra cleared her throat.</p><p>“Anyway, she doesn’t like me.” Phoibe gave her a withering look and she continued. “Not the way you mean, anyway.”</p><p>Phoibe shook her head and looked at her pityingly.</p><p>“And I thought you were supposed to be good with women. But apparently, you can’t even tell when a girl likes you.” She tsked, then shrieked with laughter when Kassandra put her in a headlock with one hand and started tickling her with the other. “I yield, I yield!”</p><p>Kassandra let her go and Phoibe leaned against her, still grinning.</p><p>“I was obviously wrong. You are Aphrodite made flesh. No woman could resist you. Except me.”</p><p>“Thank goodness for that.”</p><p>“Seriously, though. She likes you. You should talk to her. Or flirt with her, or whatever it is you do.”</p><p>Kassandra rolled her eyes, and pointedly changed the subject.</p><p>“How about a tour of the ship, huh?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It bothered me having to leave Phoibe behind in Korinth after this questline, so in my story, we don’t.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Back on deck, Barnabas came striding over to them.</p><p>“We are ready to depart, Commander. As soon as the healer returns.”</p><p>Kassandra looked at Barnabas in alarm.</p><p>“What do you mean, as soon as she returns? Where did she go?”</p><p>Barnabas frowned.</p><p>“We haven’t seen her yet. I assumed she was dealing with one or two last patients.”</p><p>Kassandra shook her head, worry gripping her.</p><p>“She left Anthousa’s before we did. She should have been here long ago.” She chewed her lip for a moment. “I’m going to go look for her. Phoibe, stay here.”</p><p>“But I can help you look!”</p><p>She knelt in front of the girl and took her head in both her hands.</p><p>“Phoibe, please. I can’t be worried about both of you at the same time. Please wait here.”</p><p>After a moment’s hesitation, Phoibe nodded. Kassandra stood and turned towards the gangplank, then turned back to Barnabas.</p><p>“Have someone get Phobos ready for me.” Barnabas frowned in confusion. “I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling. I think I’m going to need him.”</p><p>It took over an hour for Kassandra to find any useful information. One of the hetaerae had seen a man approach Helene, asking her for help for his mother. The alleyway to which he’d led her was lightly trafficked, and Kassandra had been able to find the signs of a scuffle, and hoofprints leading out of Korinth, north, towards the border with Megaris.</p><p>Sending Ikaros to scout ahead, Kassandra rushed back to the Adrestia, to find Phobos saddled and waiting for her, packs filled with supplies.</p><p>“They’ve got a couple of hours on me, at least,” Kassandra told Barnabas, while a worried Phoibe hovered nearby. </p><p>“You’ll find her,” Barnabas assured her. “They don’t have a chance against you. Go.”</p><p>Kassandra nodded, kissed Phoibe on the top of the head, with a quick reminder to stay on the ship, mounted Phobos and started out. </p><p>Based on the direction of the tracks she had seen, she had a suspicion of where Helene was being taken, and who was behind it. And if she was right, he was going to pay. She would see to it.</p><p>Nearly at the border with Megaris, with the sun setting, she came across a small camp. A little tent, a campfire, a horse with the signs of heavy travel on its flanks, and a young man tending a small pot by the fire.</p><p>Kassandra watched the camp from a hidden vantage for some time, saw the young man enter the tent with a bowl of food and exit again after just a few moments empty handed, returning to the fire to pour food into another bowl for himself.</p><p>Leading Phobos from the stand of trees from which she’d been observing, Kassandra approached the camp on foot. The young man, jumped to his feet and reached for a weapon when he saw her. This close, she could see that he was very young. Probably still in his teens. Dressed in mismatched leather armour, he reminded her of herself when she’d just been starting out as a misthios. </p><p>“The woman, the healer,” Kassandra nodded towards the tent. “She’s in there?”</p><p>The boy didn’t answer, but from his startled look, she knew she’d found Helene.</p><p>“Who’s paying for her?”</p><p>The boy licked his lips nervously and didn’t answer. Kassandra sighed.</p><p>“How much is he paying?”</p><p>“Tw-two hundred drachmae.” The awe in his voice told her this was the biggest payout he’d ever had.</p><p>Her lip curled in disdain and she tutted.</p><p>“Two hundred?” She pulled her decoy purse from her belt, took a quick look inside – for show, she knew exactly how much money it contained – pulled the strings tight again, and tossed it to the boy. “Double that, for you to leave and never speak of this.”</p><p>He fumbled the catch, but to his credit, didn’t open the pouch, just weighed it in his hand, feeling the coin inside. He nodded nervously, sidestepping towards his horse.</p><p>“And next time,” she told him, stopping him in his tracks, “think about the jobs you’re taking. Your time is worth more than what that skinflint was offering. And so is her life,” she nodded towards the tent.</p><p>He nodded again, wide-eyed, as he untied his horse, mounted and nudged it to a quick trot, back in the direction of Korinth. Kassandra watched him leave for a few moments, to make sure he didn’t intend to double back, then quickly entered the tent. </p><p>Helene knelt in the middle of it, her hands tied in front of her, a bruise on the side of her face, where, apparently, the boy had tried to knock her out and missed the blow when she fought back. She slumped in relief when she saw Kassandra, who knelt next to her and wrapped her arms around the other woman, holding her for several long moments, before pulling back and drawing a dagger with which to cut her bonds.</p><p>She looked up in surprise when she found the ropes frayed nearly to the point of breaking. Helene opened her hand to reveal a broken off arrowhead, with which she’d been sawing away at the ropes. Kassandra smiled at her, and cut away the remains of the rope, wincing at the rope burns on the young healer’s wrists.</p><p>The sound of approaching horses brought Kassandra to her feet, a finger on her lips to warn Helene to silence. </p><p>“Well, misthios,” came a voice from outside the tent. “I take it you have brought me what is mine?”</p><p>Even in the dimness of the tent, Kassandra could see the colour drain from Helene’s face, confirming Kassandra’s suspicions.</p><p>“Arktos?” she whispered.</p><p>Helene gulped and nodded. Kassandra put a hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“Stay here.” She pushed back the tent flap and exited, to find herself faced with four men. The one nearest her, who appeared to be in charge, gaped at her.</p><p>“You’re not…” He frowned and glanced up as Ikaros called a warning. “It’s the Eagle Bearer. Kill her!”</p><p>The three hired thugs were absolutely no match for Kassandra. Even three to one she outmatched them. She didn’t even bother to kill them, only incapacitate them. One, she knocked unconscious, with a backhanded blow from the butt of her spear; another she kicked in the chest, throwing him full force against the trunk of a nearby tree, and leaving him blinking dazedly on the ground; the third got too close, and ended up screaming on the ground, his shoulder out of its socket.</p><p>Seeing his hired muscle dealt with so easily, Arktos, who had been hanging back, letting them do the dirty work for him, suddenly smiled ingratiatingly at Kassandra. </p><p>“I’m sure we can work this out, misthios. I’m willing to pay well for what I own.”</p><p>“You don’t own me, Arktos,” came Helene’s angry voice from behind her. </p><p>Kassandra saw the façade of friendliness fall off the man’s face when he saw the healer exit the tent. </p><p>“Your parents promised you to me,” he snarled. “You don’t get to leave. I decide where you go.”</p><p>He seemed to lose all control over himself, forgetting all about Kassandra, and lunged at Helene. Kassandra sidestepped into his path. Arktos grunted and looked down in surprise at the spear embedded in his stomach. With a grimace of distaste, Kassandra lifted her foot to push him off the spear, kneeling next to him to clean the blade off on his tunic.</p><p>She turned back to Helene as the healer’s knees gave out and she dropped to a seat, her teeth chattering.</p><p>“Helene?” Kassandra knelt beside her and gently took her face in her hands.</p><p>“Sh-shock,” the young healer stammered. “Reaction. I’ll b-be ok in a bit.”</p><p>“Are you ok to ride?” Kassandra looked around at the incapacitated thugs. “I don’t think we should stay here very long.”</p><p>Helene nodded shakily, and Kassandra whistled for Phobos, lifting the younger woman onto his back before climbing on behind her, wrapping her arms tightly around the healer and nudging Phobos down the road towards the Port of Kechries.</p>
<hr/><p>Barnabas was still awake, waiting for their return, relief written plainly on his face when he saw them approach.</p><p>“I knew you’d find her.”</p><p>“Where’s Phoibe?”</p><p>“I made her go to bed about an hour ago,” Gelon said from behind Barnabas. “I’ll take the horse,” she continued, as Kassandra dismounted.</p><p>Kassandra nodded gratefully at her, gently lifting Helene down from Phobos’ back.</p><p>“Get us out of here, Barnabas.”</p><p>The old man nodded and patted her shoulder as she put an arm around the healer’s waist to lead her below decks. </p><p>Helene looked up in surprise when Kassandra led her to her own cabin. </p><p>“I don’t think you should be alone tonight,” Kassandra explained gently. </p><p>Helene nodded hesitantly and allowed herself to be led inside. Kassandra sat her down on the edge of the bunk and gently took her hands in her own, turning them over to examine the rope burns, and the abrasions on the palm of her dominant hand from handling the broken arrowhead. She fetched a clean cloth and a jug of water and gently cleaned and bound the wounds. Looking up as she finished, she found Helene staring intently at her and felt herself flush.</p><p>“Thank you. For coming after me,” the young healer said in a low voice.</p><p>Kassandra smiled softly at her.</p><p>“From what I saw, you’d already nearly rescued yourself. You didn’t need me.”</p><p>“I’m still glad you came. That would have been a very long walk back,” she gave her a watery smile.</p><p>Phoibe’s head suddenly popped over the edge of the top bunk.</p><p>“Kiss her, Kassandra,” she hissed loudly.</p><p>Helene blushed and laughed as Kassandra shook her head, put her hand over Phoibe’s face and gently shoved her back onto the bunk. Smiles lingering, they looked at each other silently for a few moments. </p><p>Helene saw Kassandra’s eyes drop to her lips. A surge of longing almost overwhelmed her. Would it be so wrong to just let the other woman kiss her? No, she had to quash this line of thinking. It would only open doors through which she couldn’t go, and the risk of losing Kassandra completely was one she wouldn’t take. Her friendship was too precious to risk. Besides, it was likely that the only reason she had looked down was because of Phoibe’s cheeky suggestion, not out of any real desire to kiss her, right? </p><p>The thoughts ran through her head in a stampede as Kassandra continued to watch her. She broke her gaze, looking down and using the first thing she saw to change the subject.</p><p>“Perhaps you should have gone into healing instead of becoming a misthios,” she said with a smile she didn’t really feel, running her fingers over the bandages on one of her wrists.</p><p>Kassandra leaned back with a half smile and a sigh.</p><p>“Lie down. I’m going to clean this up,” she indicated the jug and cloths she’d been using to bind Helene’s wrists, “and then I’ll be right back.”</p><p>Helene had settled herself in the bunk when Phoibe’s head appeared over the side again.</p><p>“I’m glad she found you.”</p><p>Helene smiled at her.</p><p>“Thanks, Phoibe.”</p><p>“Did she kiss you?”</p>
<hr/><p>Kassandra slumped against the wall outside the cabin door, letting her head fall back, her eyes closed. What had she been thinking? She’d nearly kissed Helene. She’d thought she had successfully suppressed her attraction for the young healer. But this kidnapping had torn down the walls she’d built up and left her reeling with the realization that, in fact, as their friendship had grown, so had her affection for the other woman. And now she’d nearly forced herself on someone who’d never shown that kind of interest in her. If Helene hadn’t interrupted her right then...</p><p>“Commander?”</p><p>Kassandra opened her eyes with a start to find Gelon and Odessa watching her worriedly. She cleared her throat.</p><p>“Long day, huh?” Odessa suggested.</p><p>Kassandra sighed and nodded.</p><p>“How is she?” Gelon asked.</p><p>“Shaken. But I think she’ll be fine soon enough.” She let her attention drift back through the cabin door, in time to hear Phoibe’s final question. Rolling her eyes, and with a muttered, “malaka!” she pressed the jug and bundle of cloth into Gelon’s hands and walked back into the room.</p><p>“Phoibe, go back to sleep.”</p><p>Phoibe lay back down with a put-upon sigh.</p><p>As Kassandra approached the bunk, Helene shifted over against the wall, rolling onto her side, with her back to Kassandra. </p><p>Kassandra hesitated, staring down at her. Maybe it would be better to distance herself a bit, lay out a blanket on the floor. She’d still be nearby if Helene needed her, but she wouldn’t…</p><p>Helene turned and looked at her over her shoulder, and in that moment, Kassandra realized that bringing Helene to her own room had been as much for her own benefit as for the healer’s, to reassure herself that the other woman was safe and near. And after the events of the day, she couldn’t resist the pull, and the comfort she would take from having her close enough to touch.</p><p>She slipped into the bunk and curled against Helene’s back, resting her forehead against the back of the other woman’s head and breathing her in as the healer melted into her.</p><p>With Kassandra’s arm around her waist, Helene felt herself relax for the first time since hearing Arktos’ voice outside the tent.</p><p>When she woke with a jolt and a thundering heart a few hours later, Kassandra’s sleepy voice assured her quietly that she was safe, she was on the Adrestia, no one would hurt her, while one hand rubbed her back gently, and she drifted off to sleep again with Kassandra’s arms wrapped around her.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kassandra came stalking back onto the Adrestia, fuming. </p><p>“No luck?” Barnabas asked.</p><p>“Didn’t she know anything about your mother?” Helene added.</p><p>“Oh, she knows. But she won’t tell me, unless I pay her. Fifteen thousand drachmae, that’s what she wants!”</p><p>Helene and Barnabas stared at her in silence for several moments.</p><p>“Fifteen thousand? That’ll take forever.”</p><p>Kassandra nodded and rubbed her face, sighing tiredly. </p><p>“I have a bit saved up, and I have some armour and weapons I can sell, but I’m a long way from fifteen thousand drachmae.”</p><p>Barnabas cleared his throat, and she looked at him questioningly.</p><p>“Well, it probably won’t pay fifteen thousand drachmae, but I did recently receive this.” He pulled a scroll from the chest at the back of the bridge and handed it to her. She unrolled it and read it aloud.</p><p>“Eagle-bearing misthios.”</p><p>“That’s you!” Barnabas interrupted cheerfully.</p><p>Kassandra rolled her eyes and continued reading.</p><p>“Podarkes, cruel leader of Delos Islands, takes money from our pockets and food from our mouths. All to feed his insatiable thirst for power. We are a modest but fierce group of rebels, who’d pay you handsomely to help us overthrow our vile oppressor. I pray the winds guide you swiftly to our shores, misthios. Our people are dying. Kyra.”</p><p>“We’re not too far from Mykonos now. It would only take a day or two to get there.”</p><p>Kassandra chewed thoughtfully on her lip for a few moments before nodding. </p><p>“Get us there, Barnabas.”</p><p>The old sailor nodded and started calling out commands to the crew. Helene saw Kassandra frown suddenly and look back down at the message in her hands.</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>“I think…” Kassandra stopped short and started for the hatch down to the lower decks, gesturing to Helene to follow.</p><p>When the healer caught up with her in her cabin, she was kneeling next to a chest, looking through various documents. </p><p>“Aha!” She stood, holding out one of the documents to Helene. </p><p>Helene opened the scroll.</p><p>"Your whimpering at the hands of the brutish Redblood M. was echoing in all corners of our shrine... Save that pain. Remember it. Let it fester. In my lands, rebellion brews. I want you fighting by my side one day, making any who rebel against me feel the pain you felt. Or worse. When we finally move on our plans in Athens, none will stand against us. The democracy will die, and I will rule again.<br/>Glory to the League.”</p><p>Helene looked up at Kassandra.</p><p>“’In my lands rebellion brews’? You think this was written by this man Podarkes?”</p><p>Kassandra pointed to the bottom of the letter.</p><p>“Look at the initial. And the Delos Islands are part of the Delian League.”</p><p>“Glory to the League.”</p><p>Kassandra nodded and shrugged.</p><p>“It fits.”</p><p>“All the more reason to meet with this Kyra.”</p><hr/><p>Following the vague directions included with the call for help, they made their way into a cave system that sprawled under the town. As they trekked deeper into the caves, Kassandra gave Helene a confused look.</p><p>“I thought we’d have been challenged by now.”</p><p>“Maybe these are the wrong caves?”</p><p>As Helene finished her question, they came out into a larger cavern, more brightly lit than the passages they’d traversed to reach it. They were assaulted by the smells of wine, sweat and blood, and by the sound of a dozen or so voices singing a maudlin ballad.</p><p>Indicating to Helene with one hand that she should stay at the entrance to the cavern, Kassandra took a few steps further in.</p><p>“I’m looking for the one called Kyra,” she called out loudly enough to be heard over the singing.</p><p>There was a sudden scramble for weapons, and she found herself with three or four spear points wobbling near her throat. She heard a gasp behind her and turned her head slightly, to see Helene also being held at spear point. She raised her hands slightly to show they were empty. </p><p>“I’ve come in response to a call for help,” she said carefully.</p><p>Before she could say anything more, a dagger flew past her nose and buried itself in the wooden scaffolding next to her. She took a deep breath and raised an eyebrow. She was definitely going to be having words with Barnabas when she got back to the Adrestia. </p><p>“You missed,” she said, and turned towards the source of the dagger. She saw a woman, about her own age, gulping down the contents of a drinking horn with one hand, the other still held out to the side after releasing the dagger. She unhurriedly upended the empty cup on the table next to her, as the man nearest her, turning towards Kassandra, lost his balance and tumbled gracelessly to the ground.</p><p>The woman took a few steps towards Kassandra and Helene, in the careful, deliberate way of one who knows she’s drunk, and is trying to compensate for it.</p><p>“Are you a spy, Athenian? Or maybe,” she looked Kassandra up and down, “you are Athena herself, dressed in a dirty disguise?”</p><p>Kassandra took a deep breath.</p><p>“Do I look like a spy to you?” She frowned suddenly. “Or an Athenian?”</p><p>The other woman scowled.</p><p>“Podarkes and his men have been hunting and killing us relentlessly. He will hire anyone who’ll take his coin and not ask any questions. So yes, you could be a spy, Athena. This is the first night we haven’t been fighting for our lives, and it could be our last. And suddenly you two show up.” She threw a glance at Helene. </p><p>Kassandra carefully pulled the scroll Barnabas had given her from her belt.</p><p>“This is what brought me here.” She held it out so that the woman could see the seal on it.</p><p>Her eyes brightened. </p><p>“You’re the misthios who bears the eagle of Zeus?” She gestured to the men still holding Kassandra at spear point to lower their weapons. </p><p>“You are Kyra?” She glanced behind her and saw Helene hurrying to join them, glaring daggers at the man who had threatened her.</p><p>“Yes. My apologies, misthios. We cannot afford to be trusting of strangers. Too many of us have died. Come.” She gestured towards the table as the men surrounding them returned to their cups.</p><hr/><p>Helene paused as she reentered the main cavern. When the rebels had learned that she was a healer, they had immediately pressed her into service. Kyra had not been exaggerating when she said the rebels were dying. Kyra’s second in command, a man named Praxos, had led Helene to a side chamber where several injured men and women lay on pallets. She had set to work right away, doing what she could for them. </p><p>Now she stopped to watch Kyra and Kassandra from the shadows at the edge of the chamber. There was a gleam in Kassandra’s eye whenever she looked at Kyra, and despite the seriousness of their discussion, Helene saw a smile tug at the corners of her mouth on more than one occasion. </p><p>Helene half smiled and shook her head, ignoring the wrench in her heart. Trust Kassandra to fall for a woman who tried to kill her on first acquaintance. This was good, though. Kyra appeared to be a strong, capable woman, a warrior in her own right. An equal to the misthios. And she was beautiful as well. </p><p>And if the looks she was giving Kassandra were anything to go by, the attraction seemed mutual. Yes. Helene let out a sharp breath. Good. Kassandra deserved someone like this. And maybe Helene would find it easier to suppress her own feelings, if Kassandra were involved with someone else. If the opportunity presented itself, she would definitely nudge her in that direction. </p><p>As Helene watched, the pair were joined by a man in Spartan uniform. An officer, if the quality of his gear was anything to go by. He threw a proprietary arm around Kyra’s shoulder as she introduced Kassandra. Helene could see Kassandra watching the two, taking stock of the man. Helene left the shadows and joined the group in the center of the chamber.</p><p>“Ah, and she brought a healer with her,” Kyra said spotting Helene approaching, and taking the opportunity to slip out from under the man’s arm. “Thaletas also answered my call for help.”</p><p>Thaletas smiled sadly and scratched the back of his head.</p><p>“Unfortunately, our ship was sunk by the Athenians. Our generals were killed. There are only a few of us left. We have a camp nearby on one of the beaches. We can’t do as much as we might have. But we are still Spartan. We will fight to the last man.” He turned to Kyra. “I still say we should take the fight to Podarkes. We know where he lives. We knock down his door and run our spears through his face.”</p><p>Kyra sighed. It was obvious she had heard this before.</p><p>“That’s a terrible plan!”</p><p>“The Spartan phalanx is impenetrable in a ground assault!” he argued hotly.</p><p>“There are only twelve of you! I know you want to fight, but we need to be strategic. We need to weaken them before we can attack openly.” Kyra countered.</p><p>“All you do is hide in caves!” came his response.</p><p>Kassandra had been glancing back and forth between the two of them as they argued and suddenly raised a hand between them.</p><p>“Enough!” They both stopped and looked at her. “Were there really only twelve survivors from your ship?” she asked Thaletas.</p><p>He nodded reluctantly.</p><p>“Then Kyra’s right. We need to weaken them first. Take out some of their leaders, maybe steal or destroy their supplies.” He opened his mouth to argue, but she raised a hand to stop him. “And don’t tell me it’s not the Spartan way. I’ve met Spartan spies. Highly placed ones, who do exactly this sort of work.” She clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll get plenty of fighting, trust me. But let’s make sure we can win the fight before we start it, yes?”</p><p>Thaletas huffed, scowled and threw his hands up.</p><p>“Fine! I’ll be at my camp, if you decide you actually want to win this rebellion. Come find me!” He turned and stalked out of the cavern, leaving the three women staring after him.</p><p>Kyra sighed and smiled apologetically at Kassandra.</p><p>“He really is a good fighter. He just tends to think with his heart instead of his head. He’s not used to being the one in charge yet, either. Well,” she clasped her hands together and took a deep breath, “your ideas for weakening the Athenians are good. Some of our scouts have reported that Podarkes has stockpiled supplies in some of the ruins on Delos.”</p><p>Kassandra nodded.</p><p>“I can take care of that. I’ll need to talk with your scouts to get the details, maybe take them with me. Extra hands would mean we could… liberate… some of the supplies, instead of having to destroy them all. Put that food in your own bellies, instead of the Athenians’.”</p><p>Kyra beamed at her, and Helene saw Kassandra flush. </p><p>“I think I’ll also go smooth things over with Thaletas before going to the other island. See if he has any ideas for targets to hit to weaken the Athenians.” </p><p>She turned towards Helene, who anticipated her question.</p><p>“I’ll be of more use here,” she assured Kassandra.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, you and the misthios…?</p><p>Helene looked up from the length of linen she was tearing into strips for bandages, as Kyra leaned against the table next to her and picked up one of the strips Helene had just rolled up for easy storage. </p><p>“Me and the misthios?”</p><p>Kyra seemed very preoccupied with the bandages and didn’t meet Helene’s eyes.</p><p>“How long have you… been together?”</p><p>Helene didn’t answer immediately, focusing on rolling up another strip of linen, and using the activity to cover her thoughts. If Kyra had seen something between them, she would need to be more careful around Kassandra. Nevertheless, this would be her first opportunity to nudge Kassandra into Kyra’s arms. Though, she hadn’t expected to be nudging from this direction.</p><p>“It’s been nearly a year since she hired me.”</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kyra frown and finally look at her.</p><p>“No, I meant…” her brow furrowed. “Aren’t you…?”</p><p>Helene raised her eyebrows innocently.</p><p>“Friends? Oh, yes, we’ve become good friends in that time.” She smiled brightly at Kyra. </p><p>Kyra’s eyes narrowed and she looked at Helene consideringly for several moments, as though trying to figure something out, before smiling in return.</p><p>“I think I’d like to spend more time with her, when she returns,” she said tentatively.</p><p>So would I, was the thought that went through Helene’s head. Externally, she looked at Kyra encouragingly.</p><p>“I thought maybe we could go hunting together.”</p><p>Helene nodded, thinking of the tales Kassandra had told her of Daphnae and the legendary beasts the Daughter of Artemis had set her to hunt.</p><p>“She’d probably enjoy that,” she replied, trying to keep her tone matter of fact.</p><p>Kyra’s smile widened and she gave a firm nod. </p><p>“Good. Yes. Well,” she paused and gave Helene another confused look before clearing her throat. “I should get back to…” she gestured vaguely and headed back into the main chamber.</p><p>Helene leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply. That had been a lot harder than she’d expected. But she had to remember that she was doing this for Kassandra. Kassandra deserved better.</p><hr/><p>“Do I look ok?” Kassandra stopped in front of Helene, looking nervous.</p><p>“Fine. What’s the occasion?”</p><p>“Kyra asked me to go hunting with her.”</p><p>Helene looked her up and down and pursed her lips.</p><p>“Lose the armour.”</p><p>Kassandra looked shocked.</p><p>“What? But we’re going hunting!”</p><p>“Ibex, probably! Not lions, or huge boars or people. Leave the armour behind, trust me. And don’t take all your weapons either. Just your bow. And your spear,” she added quickly when Kassandra gave her a horror-stricken look.</p><p>Kassandra started hesitantly plucking at the straps of her armour.</p><p>“I always wear my armour when I go hunting,” she muttered plaintively.</p><p>Helene sighed and rolled her eyes.</p><p>“You’re not just going hunting.” Kassandra gave her a confused look and she tutted impatiently, standing to help the other woman with her bracers. “Honestly, how have you not figured this out? Kyra likes you. This is her excuse to spend some time alone with you. Even I can see that!” </p><p>Kassandra looked at her wide-eyed, surprise and astonished delight slipping across her face.</p><p>“It is? Wait, what do you mean even you can see that?” </p><p>She frowned down at Helene, who ducked her head, kicking herself internally for her slip of the tongue.</p><p>“Never mind that. Just go and have a nice time.” She gave Kassandra a little shove towards the door.</p><hr/><p>Kyra’s teasing as she approached the altar where the rebel leader was making a sacrifice before their hunt, brought a smile to her lips and warmth to her cheeks. And the look Kyra gave her when she turned and saw her wearing only the belt her quiver hung on, and no other armour; the way her eyes raked across Kassandra’s body, brought heat to other parts of her. Maybe Helene had been right about this being more than a hunt. </p><p>She found herself chatting easily with Kyra during their hunt, and when, after they’d delivered three good-sized ibexes back to the rebel camp, the other woman suggested taking her somewhere more private, Kassandra agreed readily.</p><p>She realized when they arrived at the little shack on the beach that this had not been a spur of the moment idea. Kyra had planned to bring her here all along. A bonfire was already lit, there was a basket food tucked away out of reach of animals, and a blanket folded in a corner of the hut.</p><p>Sitting side by side with Kyra in front of the campfire Kassandra admitted to herself that she wanted this connection, this release. Needed it. But she also wanted to be honest with Kyra. She deserved that much.</p><p>Kyra leaned towards her, interrupting her thoughts.</p><p>“Why is it so easy to talk to you?”</p><p>Kassandra considered for a moment.</p><p>“Probably because we’ve lived similar lives, been through similar struggles.” She reached for Kyra’s hand, rubbing her thumb across her knuckles. “You were right earlier, when you said there is a connection between us. And I want to… explore it.” She let her eyes wander up and down Kyra’s body, showing her exactly what it was she wanted to explore. “But…”</p><p>“But?” Kyra’s voice was laced with disappointment and she leaned back from Kassandra.</p><p>Kassandra dropped her gaze and sighed, before looking back up at her.</p><p>“I can’t promise you anything beyond tonight.”</p><p>Kyra smiled and leaned back in.</p><p>“I’m not exactly in a position to promise more myself. But we can have this, tonight, under the stars. Yes?”</p><p>Kassandra responded by closing the distance between them and pressing her lips to Kyra’s, pushing her down onto the blanket.</p><hr/><p>The people of Mykonos were celebrating. Podarkes was dead, and the Athenian stranglehold on the island had been broken. The celebrations spread across both islands, with Kyra’s rebels taking over the Archon’s residence for their celebration, Podarkes’ former home.</p><p>Kassandra and Helene were surrounded by the former rebels as soon as they entered the main courtyard where everyone was gathered, wine and food pressed on them, hugs offered. Kassandra looked around, searching for Kyra. Helene tapped her arm and pointed.</p><p>“Look, there’s Barnabas.”</p><p>The old sailor had seen them, and was crossing the courtyard towards them, smiling broadly.</p><p>“This is quite a celebration,” Kassandra said as he came within earshot. “The people seem happy.”</p><p>“As they should be. For the first time since Ares cursed us with war, the Delos Islands know freedom.”</p><p>“Where’s Kyra? I expected her to be celebrating with her people.”</p><p>Barnabas took a step closer to them and glanced around to make sure no one was listening in to their conversation.</p><p>“She told me what you learned. And that you kept her secret. She snuck off to send him to the ferryman alone.”</p><p>Helene glanced at Kassandra, taking in her worried look.</p><p>“You should go find her.”</p><p>“She probably wants to be alone.”</p><p>Helene pursed her lips.</p><p>“Being alone is probably the last thing she needs right now.”</p><p>Barnabas nodded his agreement and told her where Kyra had gone. When Kassandra still hesitated, Helene deliberately turned towards the bonfire that had been lit nearby. “Is that a boar they’re roasting? I’m starving.” She took Barnabas by the arm and started to lead him away.</p><p>Kassandra squeezed her arm as she passed and started off to find Kyra.</p><p>She found her on the edge of a cliff, where she had built a pyre, and was rolling Podarkes’ body towards it. Kassandra jogged the last few steps towards her.</p><p>“Let me help you with that.”</p><p>Kyra jumped and turned towards her with a gasp, then let out a relieved breath and a soft laugh.</p><p>“I guess you can be quiet when you want to be. How did you find me?”</p><p>Kassandra shrugged as she helped her lift the former Archon’s body onto the pyre.</p><p>“Barnabas.”</p><p>Kyra gave a little huff of laughter and nodded, turning away to fetch a torch she had left nearby. Kassandra reached into her pouch and pulled out a coin. She offered it to Kyra when she returned to the pyre.</p><p>“For the ferryman.”</p><p>Kyra looked down at her hand and nodded as she took the coin. She tossed it onto his body and held the torch to the oil soaked wood beneath him.</p><p>“Go now,” she said dully, “into the river of black night, and embrace the boundless gloom.” She stepped down to the foot of the pyre and lowered the torch again. “You shall wonder obscure, even in the house of Hades, living among the silent dead.” </p><p>She tossed the torch onto the pyre and stepped back as the flames caught and the smoke rose, hiding the body from their sight.</p><p>“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, glancing sidelong at Kassandra.</p><p>“You shouldn’t have to say goodbye alone.”</p><p>Kyra took a shaky breath.</p><p>“I’ve wanted to see him burn for so long. Now that it’s happened,” she shook her head, frowning, “I thought I’d feel peace.”</p><p>“What do you feel?” Kassandra asked softly.</p><p>“Empty,” she said simply.</p><p>Kassandra nodded.</p><p>“I felt that way too, after I found my father again.”</p><p>Kyra turned to look at her fully.</p><p>“What did you do?”</p><p>Kassandra shrugged.</p><p>“I kept busy.” She gestured towards the pyre. “He’s gone. But you’re still here. The people need you. If you don’t protect them, there will be another Podarkes to come and take his place.”</p><p>“I’m just a rebel, though.”</p><p>Kassandra tutted.</p><p>“You are a rebel leader. And the important part of that is leader, not rebel. You have been leading these people already for years. They trust you. They know you care about them.”</p><p>One corner of Kyra’s mouth lifted in a half smile.</p><p>“You’re right. I do. And I need them as much as they need me.”</p><p>She stepped closer to Kassandra and put her arms around her.</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>Kassandra pulled back after a few moments and smiled at her.</p><p>“Your rebels are waiting for you. We should go join them.”</p><p>With one arm around Kyra’s shoulder, she started leading her back towards the town.</p><p>“Tell me, misthios” she started in a playful tone.</p><p>Kassandra looked at her and raised her eyebrows questioningly.</p><p>“When are you going to tell that little healer of yours how you feel about her?”</p><p>Kassandra stopped in her tracks and gaped at Kyra, who chuckled at her expression and patted her cheek gently.</p><p>“I’m right, aren’t I?”</p><p>Kassandra cleared her throat and looked away.</p><p>“There can never be anything between us.”</p><p>“Why not?” Kyra tucked her hand into Kassandra’s elbow and started walking again.</p><p>Kassandra sighed.</p><p>“She doesn’t feel the same way about me.” Kyra laughed outright, but Kassandra plowed on over her. “And I don’t want to make things uncomfortable between us.”</p><p>Kyra pulled her to a stop again and turned towards her.</p><p>“Helene tracks you the way a flower tracks the sun. Her face lights up every time she sees you.”</p><p>Kassandra shook her head stubbornly.</p><p>“She thinks of me as a sister. She told me I remind her of her brother.”</p><p>Kyra shook her head.</p><p>“Then she must have had a very strange relationship with her brother. Have you never talked about it?”</p><p>Kassandra sighed and shook her head.</p><p>“I don’t want to lose her friendship by forcing myself where I’m not wanted.”</p><p>Kyra rolled her eyes.</p><p>“You are a stubborn woman, Kassandra of Sparta.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Praxos, where’s Thaletas? I thought he’d be here celebrating the news that he’s being made a general.”</p><p>The big man pointed towards the coast.</p><p>“He went off that way.” He frowned down at Kyra. “He’d been acting strange all evening. Moody. Wouldn’t eat or drink. Didn’t want to talk to anybody. Not sure what’s going on with him.”</p><p>Noticing Kyra’s look of concern, Kassandra put a hand on her arm. </p><p>“I’ll go find him. You stay here and celebrate with your people.” Kyra nodded gratefully, and she turned to go, turning around suddenly and walking backwards for a few steps. “Just let my crew know where I’ve gone, would you? Barnabas is an old hen, and he’ll worry otherwise.”</p><p>With Kyra’s laugh echoing in her ears, Kassandra set off in the direction Praxos had indicated. She found the Spartan at the water’s edge, staring out towards the horizon.</p><p>“Thaletas? What are you doing out here?”</p><p>“Thinking. Praying.” He suddenly turned towards her, and she was taken aback by the anger on his face. “This was my time, Kassandra!”</p><p>“What?” she sputtered.</p><p>“This glory was supposed to be mine. Podarkes was mine to kill. These islands were mine to win for Sparta. You took Kyra, my love!”</p><p>Kassandra gaped at him, unsure where to start with all those accusations. </p><p>“No one belongs to you, Thaletas. I didn’t take your glory. I helped you.”</p><p>“You did nothing! We were in love, you know. We can be again. I can still have her heart, still prove to her I’m the warrior she wants.” He drew his sword, and faced her, jaw clenched, fury in his eyes.</p><p>Kassandra cursed herself for leaving her armour and most of her weapons behind. With Podarkes dead, she hadn’t expected to need them at the celebration. All she had with her was her spear. She drew it, hesitantly.</p><p>“Thaletas, this is madness. We don’t have to do this.”</p><p>He roared and lunged at her, she sidestepped nimbly and put a bit of distance between them again.</p><p>“You have your glory. Sparta has rewarded you for your work here. You’ve been made a general. What more did you expect?”</p><p>Again he rushed her, but this time, her foot caught on a piece of driftwood. She hissed with pain, as his blade scored her thigh, scrambled for balance, and once more moved back from him.</p><p>The last thing she wanted to do was kill the man, despite the fact that that seemed exactly what he wanted to do to her. Coming back to Kyra with a dead Thaletas was… she didn’t want to consider the consequences of that. </p><p>In an even match, she had no doubt she’d be able to kill him. He was a competent warrior. No Spartan who survived the agoge would be anything but, but he was no match for her, especially with rage dulling his reason and strategy.</p><p>But her goal now was to keep him alive, and she was already losing blood. She needed to end this quickly. She stopped trying to reason with him and saved her energy for the fight. </p><p>The next time he lunged at her, she spun out of his way, and thrust the butt of her spear between his legs. He want sprawling with a muffled groan. She quickly twisted back, and brought the haft of the spear down on his temple. He went limp, and so did she, falling to her knees beside him.</p><p>She glared down at his unconscious body while she got her breath back.</p><p>“Curse you, Thaletas, what am I supposed to do with you now?”</p><p>Grumbling to herself, she hauled herself to her feet, groaning at the burning in her thigh. Muttering imprecations against all Spartans, she hefted Thaletas over one shoulder, and started the trek back into town.</p><p>Outside the Archon’s house, she hesitated. She didn’t think a blood-soaked misthios, carrying an unconscious Spartan would really add to the celebration. She hesitated in the shadows, until she noticed Praxos leaning against a nearby pillar.</p><p>“Psst!”</p><p>The big man straightened up and looked around.</p><p>“Praxos!” she hissed. “Over here.”</p><p>Praxos came towards her, stopping short when he got close enough to see her.</p><p>“What in Tartarus happened to you two?” He leaned over a bit to get a glimpse of Thaletas’ face. “Is he…?”</p><p>The Spartan chose that moment to groan, and Praxos stood back up with a look of relief.</p><p>“I’m going to take him upstairs. I didn’t want to disrupt the party. Could you send Kyra up? Oh, and my healer, if you see her.”</p><p>Praxos nodded, giving both of them a dubious look as she turned into the house.</p><p>Kassandra dumped Thaletas on a bedroll in the first room she came to, and took a few steps away, just as Helene poked her head in the room and gasped.</p><p>“What happened?” She hurried over to Kassandra and lifted the hem of her chiton to discover where the trails of blood down her leg originated. Kassandra took her hand away and gently turned her towards the bedroll, where Thaletas was digging the heels of his hands into his eyes.</p><p>“Take care of him, first. I’ll go clean up.”</p>
<hr/><p>Kyra hurried up the stairs, stopping suddenly in the hall at the sound of raised voices.</p><p>“She went to you unarmoured! As a friend!” This was Helene, and Kyra had never heard such anger in her voice. Who was she talking to? “And you tried to kill her?” Her voice rose in pitch towards the end of that sentence.</p><p>The response was more muted. A male voice, was all she could make out at first. She took a few steps closer to the door, and recognized Thaletas’ voice. She stopped in shock. </p><p>“...what was mine.” was all she could make out.</p><p>“What was yours?” Helene tutted. “Stay still, damn you!”</p><p>“The victory was to have been mine.”</p><p>There were several seconds of silence before Helene answered in a tone of outrage.</p><p>“The victory <i>was</i> yours! Sparta won.”</p><p>“But she took my glory,” he was starting to sound plaintive.</p><p>She heard a snort.</p><p>“You did that yourself. I’ve heard your men talking. You didn’t even show up to the battle. Where were you? Off sulking somewhere? Honestly, I don’t know why Sparta bothered to give you a promotion.”</p><p>“Sh-she took Kyra from me.”  Kyra winced at this. “We were to have gone back to Sparta together, married.” </p><p>Kyra gaped blankly at the wall. That’s what he’d thought?</p><p>She heard Helene tsk impatiently.</p><p>“If that’s what you really thought, you don’t know Kyra at all.” Kyra blinked in surprise to hear Helene defending her. “She loves Mykonos, and its people. She has no intention of abandoning them. And if you’d ever actually talked to her, and listened to her, you’d know that.</p><p>“B-but…”</p><p>Helene made a noise of disgust.</p><p>“I’m out of patience with you. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, except for that knot on your head. Meanwhile, Kassandra is off the gods know where, bleeding all over the tile, probably.” Her voice dropped to a low, threatening growl so that Kyra had to lean in to hear her. “The next time you decide to try to kill yourself by proxy, you leave her out of it. Or I’ll come and finish it for you. Do I make myself clear?”</p><p>Kyra heard a strangled squeak, followed by angry footsteps coming towards the doorway, and had to take a quick step back when Helene swept out, gasping in surprise when she saw Kyra staring at her wide-eyed.</p><p>She lost steam when she saw Kyra and blushed furiously.</p><p>“Thaletas is in there.” She gestured to the room behind her.</p><p>Kyra nodded.</p><p>“I heard.”</p><p>“He attacked Kassandra.” </p><p>Kyra’s brow furrowed. </p><p>“I.. heard that too.”</p><p>“Have you seen her?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Helene looked further down the hall and nodded. Before she could step away, Kyra wrapped her arms around the healer. She pulled back to find Helene staring at her wide-eyed. She squeezed her shoulder as she stepped towards the door.</p><p>“Go find her. I’ll deal with this…” she sighed, “fool.”</p>
<hr/><p>Kyra circulated through the gardens and courtyards, keeping a smile on her face, but her heart was no longer in the celebration. After the long, painful conversation with Thaletas, all she wanted to do was appropriate an amphora of wine and find somewhere quiet to drink it. Preferably alone.</p><p>She settled for a large cup of wine instead, and continued her rounds, making sure her people could see her. In a dimly lit corner of one of the gardens, she came across Helene, sitting on the ground, with her back against a short wall, a cup of wine on one side of her, a plate of food on the other, neither of which appeared to have been touched.</p><p>The young woman looked exhausted, her head leaning back against the wall, her eyes on the sky.</p><p>“Do you mind if I join you?”</p><p>Helene started and sat up straight. After a moment, she nodded, her posture relaxing once more. Kyra lowered herself to the ground next to the healer and leaned back with a sigh.</p><p>“I should have talked to him sooner,” she said after a period of silence. “But I was so focused on the rebellion, on defeating Podarkes. I thought he’d be distracted, or perhaps take his men and leave.”</p><p>Helene took a piece of the roast pork from the plate next to her and started shredding off small pieces and nibbling on them. </p><p>“He probably would have. He seems like the kind who holds a grudge.”</p><p>“I should have told him.”</p><p>Helene shrugged.</p><p>“Or not slept with Kassandra. That was probably the easier option.”</p><p>Kyra laughed aloud, then stopped abruptly when she saw Helene’s expression.</p><p>“You’re serious?”</p><p>Helene shifted uncomfortably.</p><p>“Well, yes. Isn’t it?” She frowned suddenly and started to push to her feet. “Never mind.”</p><p>“Wait!” Kyra reached out to take her wrist. “There was something I wanted to ask you.”</p><p>Helene reluctantly sank back down, and Kyra took that as encouragement to continue.</p><p>“When I asked you about you and Kassandra… why didn’t you tell me how you felt about her? I… I wouldn’t have… if you’d said...”</p><p>Helene picked restlessly at the fabric of her chiton. She raised a shoulder.</p><p>“There was no reason to.”</p><p>“But you love her!”</p><p>Helene sighed. </p><p>“It doesn’t matter.”</p><p>Kyra rolled her eyes, mentally cursing stubborn women everywhere.</p><p>“Of course it matters! It matters to you. And it might matter to her.”</p><p>Helene had started shaking her head as soon as Kyra started talking.</p><p>“Kassandra deserves better.”</p><p>Kyra scoffed.</p><p>“Better than a beautiful woman? Who loves her? A healer, at that?”</p><p>Helene raised one shoulder again.</p><p>“I can’t give her everything she needs.”</p><p>Kyra frowned.</p><p>“Nobody can give another person everything they need. That’s not how relationships work!”</p><p>Helene sighed and rubbed her face.</p><p>“I don’t mean everything everything. Just certain things. That are necessary in relationships.”</p><p>Kyra looked at her silently for a few moments, as the pieces came together in her mind.</p><p>“When you said before that not sleeping with Kassandra would be easy…” she paused before continuing tentatively. “Are you asexual?” she asked gently.</p><p>Helene’s brow furrowed and she blinked as though thinking it over.</p><p>“I suppose that’s a good word for it.”</p><p>Kyra watched her carefully.</p><p>“You hadn’t heard the term before?”</p><p>Helene shook her head.</p><p>“Have you been thinking you’re the only one who’s like that?” She saw the moment the implication of her question hit the young healer, as her eyes flicked up to hers. “Because you’re not. I’ve met others. It’s as normal as a man loving a woman, or two women loving each other. You are not broken.”</p><p>She saw Helene’s eyes fill with tears, saw her blink them back and look away.</p><p>“Maybe you should talk to Kassandra.”</p><p>Helene shook her head vehemently.</p><p>“Even if you’re right and it is normal, I can’t ask her to give up something she enjoys.”</p><p>Kyra sighed and threw her hands up.</p><p>“Gods save me from stubborn women!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kyra walked down to the docks with Kassandra, Helene and Barnabas late the next morning. They had said most of their goodbyes over their morning meal, and the conversation as they walked was slightly stilted.</p><p>“Where will you go next?” Kyra asked.</p><p>Kassandra grimaced.</p><p>“Not sure. Need to find some more jobs. I’m still a bit short of the amount I need to pay Xenia for the information she has about my mother.”</p><p>Kyra stopped at the foot of the gangplank.</p><p>“Be careful, won’t you?”</p><p>Kassandra smirked, and Kyra rolled her eyes and turned to Barnabas.</p><p>“Thank you for bringing her. We couldn’t have done it without her, and without you and the rest of the crew to back her up.” She hugged the old sailor, who patted her back paternally.</p><p>“You take care of our islands. What am I saying, of course you will. And it’s not like you can do worse than Podarkes.” He frowned. “That sounded nicer in my head.”</p><p>Kyra laughed and moved to Helene, wrapping her in a hug as well.</p><p>“Trust her. Tell her how you feel,” she whispered in the healer’s ear before pulling away and squeezing her hands. </p><p>Finally, she moved to Kassandra, noticing Barnabas take Helene’s arm and lead her up the gangplank out of the corner of her eye.</p><p>“You are like a storm, misthios. You blow in, change everything, and are gone in the next moment.” She smiled wistfully at Kassandra. “I could wish we had both been in a different place, and could have had more than a single night.” She stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to Kassandra’s in a chaste kiss, before wrapping her arms around the other woman’s neck, and feeling Kassandra return the embrace. “Take care of your little healer. And tell her how you feel.” She felt Kassandra’s sigh, and pulled back. “And if the two of you ever decide to settle down, you’ll always have a home on Mykonos.”</p><p>Kassandra’s lips quirked in a smile and she nodded.</p><p>“Good bye, Kyra.”</p><hr/><p>Kassandra stood in the middle of her cabin, breastplate dangling forgotten from one hand, staring blankly at the wall. It had occurred to her that Kyra wasn’t the only person who had insisted that Helene might return her feelings. Phoibe, while still young, was a very perceptive girl. Was it possible they were right? Had she allowed that one comment from Helene early in their relationship to blind her to the truth?</p><p>She started moving before she could second-guess herself, only stopping when she reached the door of Helene’s cabin, where the young healer was bent over her medical kit, emptying it out, cleaning up after the heavy use it had received on Mykonos, and humming one of the sailors’ shanties under her breath.</p><p>For a moment Kassandra forgot why she had gone there, and just leaned against the door frame, watching Helene work, unaware of the smile softening her features. When Helene turned away from the table after a few minutes and saw her, the smile that she gave Kassandra, made her breath catch. </p><p>She’d been trying to think of how to broach the subject, but now she decided that actions would speak more clearly. She stepped into the room, catching the door with her fingertips as she passed and swinging it closed, and slowly approached Helene, whose expression had now turned quizzical.</p><p>She stood in front of the other woman for several moments, searching her eyes, seeking the answer to her question, and finding both confirmation and denial. Her brow furrowed in confusion.</p><p>“Kassandra?”</p><p>There was enough hope mixed into the question, to spur Kassandra on. She raised a hand to cup Helene’s face, felt her lean into the caress. She dipped her head towards Helene’s, letting her nose graze the other woman’s cheek, but stopped short of kissing her, giving her every chance to pull away, to turn her down. </p><p>In the end, it was Helene who, taking a shaky breath, rose hesitantly on tip toe and pressed her lips softly to Kassandra’s.</p><hr/><p>She had known Kyra was right. Had known she’d been lying to herself about her own feelings being the only ones that were compromised. But she had hoped, seeing Kassandra and Kyra interact, that Kassandra could move on.</p><p>Instead, she had turned to find Kassandra in her doorway, watching her with such a soft smile, that it had made Helene’s head spin, and she had found herself smiling in return without considering the consequences.</p><p>The moment Kassandra stepped towards her, though, her mind went into panic mode. This was the moment of no return. If she allowed Kassandra to kiss her, there would be no going back. But would it be so bad? Kyra had hinted that Kassandra wouldn’t mind. Then again, this was Kassandra. With Arktos she had dreaded all physical contact. But from the moment she had met Kassandra, she had cherished each touch, each embrace. Would the same be true of more intimate gestures? And even if it wasn’t, wouldn’t it be worth enduring, just to have Kassandra?</p><p>She hesitated for several long moments, feeling the warmth of Kassandra’s breath as she stood just shy of kissing her. She realized finally, that Kassandra was leaving the final choice to her. With a deep, shaky breath, she rose to meet her.</p><p>She felt a thrill run through her as Kassandra’s lips moved against her own. She had expected to have to fight an urge to recoil. But this? This was nice! It felt right. Kassandra’s lips were soft, and her hands were gentle, and Helene lost herself in the feel of her, the closeness she had denied herself for so long.</p><p>When Kassandra finally pulled back slightly, not far, resting her forehead against Helene’s, they were both a little breathless. Somewhat uncertainly, Helene reached for Kassandra’s free hand – the other still cupped the side of her face – and felt a rush of relief and delight, when Kassandra responded by lacing their fingers together.</p><p>“Is it ok if we sit?” Kassandra asked with a quick glance towards the bunk. “I think one or both of us might get a cramp in the neck if we don’t,” she added quirking her lips in a mischievous smile. </p><p>Helene nodded shyly. Kassandra kept hold of her hand as they sat, as though reluctant to break the connection between them.</p><p>“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” Kassandra said. She leaned in slightly with a smile. “Can I try it again?”</p><p>Helene smiled and nodded and again lost herself in Kassandra. What had she been so worried about? Of course kissing Kassandra would be wonderful. She could do this all day. </p><p>Kassandra’s hands started exploring this time, one trailing from her hand up her arm and into the hair at the back of her neck, the other tracing up her side from her hip. And now her tongue was tracing along Helene’s lower lip, delicately, a question, not the demand Helene had come to expect in other kisses. But when she opened her mouth and Kassandra’s tongue dipped in, there was just too much to think about. There was a hand nearly at her breast, and the tongue moving about, and what was she supposed to do with her own hands? And shouldn’t she be concentrating on this? But she couldn’t, it was overwhelming, and her anxiety was starting to grow again. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to concentrate on just what her lips were doing, trying to drown out everything else.</p><p>Almost immediately, Kassandra pulled back, a look of concern on her face.</p><p>“Helene?”</p><p>Helene felt her cheeks heat.</p><p>“I was… concentrating.”</p><p>Kassandra’s lips quirked in a half smile, but there was still concern evident in her eyes.</p><p>“We can slow down, if it’s too much.” She tucked a strand of hair behind Helene’s ear. “There’s no rush.”</p><p>Helene picked restlessly at a hangnail, staring down at the floor.</p><p>“But what if it’s always too much?” she asked in a near whisper.</p><p>Kassandra looked at her curiously.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>Helene sighed.</p><p>“What if I can never...” she gestured vaguely between them, still unable to meet Kassandra’s gaze. She let out a frustrated breath and tried again. “What if there’s never any sex?” </p><p>She cringed as she heard her own words, and dared a glance at Kassandra out of the corner of her eye.</p><p>Kassandra stared blankly for several long moments, then blinked a few times, and shrugged.</p><p>“Then there’s no sex,” she said simply. She held up a hand as Helene opened her mouth to argue, silencing her. “I won’t say that I don’t enjoy it, or that I wouldn’t be delighted if at some point you decided you wanted us to make love. But sex isn’t the bedrock or the cornerstone of a relationship.”</p><p>She dipped her head slightly to catch Helene’s eyes.</p><p>“Ok?”</p><p>Helene could read the sincerity and the – she didn’t dare call it love yet – the affection in her eyes. She nodded, and when Kassandra opened her arms, leaned against the other woman, tucking her head under Kassandra’s chin and slipping her arms around her waist.</p><p>“Kyra was right,” she said after a few moments of blissful silence.</p><p>“About what?”</p><p>Helene smiled at the way Kassandra’s voice vibrated against her cheek.</p><p>“She told me to trust you.”</p><p>Kassandra chuckled softly and kissed the top of Helene’s head.</p><p>“Thank the gods for Kyra.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They had seen the smoke rising over the city even from the ship. Whispers of plague were quickly followed by the sight of visibly ill people stumbling through the streets. Helene had felt a palpable relief when they ran into Hippokrates, a relief that didn’t last however, when the older healer confessed that all he’d been able to do so far was ease the suffering of the victims, and try to contain the spread of the disease.</p><p>She stayed with him after Kassandra had dealt with the Ares fanatics who had taken offense to the burning of the bodies, moving from house to house with him, offering what ease she could, helping him pile bodies onto pyres for burning.</p><p>After several hours, stinking of sickness, death and smoke, Hippokrates insisted she return to the Adrestia.</p><p>“Go back. Rest. Eat. You’ll be no good to anyone if you run yourself ragged.”</p><p>She looked at him sharply.</p><p>“And will you be going to rest as well?”</p><p>He shrugged self-deprecatingly and she shook her head, but turned away and took a moment to get her bearings, trying to figure out where she’d ended up in relation to the Port of Pireaus. The glow of the setting sun against the smoke gave her a direction and she started making her way towards the docks.</p><p>Walking along the back of a theatre, she was startled by the sudden shrill scream of a frightened child, and she stopped, wide-eyed to place the sound, which was echoing off the cliff walls beside her. The cry came again, and she zeroed in on the building next to the theatre.</p><p>She sprinted across the small courtyard, came to a sliding stop at the nearest door, pulled her bow off her back and nocked an arrow. From here, she could hear the sound of scuffling, and the child’s cries more clearly. She peeked into the building, grateful of the growing darkness behind her. </p><p>She couldn’t see the child, but she could guess they were what the four armoured men looming around one of the columns were focused on. As she watched, one of the men gave a backhanded blow, the child cried out again, and there was the thud of a falling body. </p><p>Helene slipped into the building, staying in the shadows against the wall, crouched down, and took aim. With a slow breath, she released the arrow, and immediately moved again, not waiting to see whether her arrow had struck true, but gratified at the sound of gurgling from one of the men, a heavier thud, and exclamations from the other guards. </p><p>Before they could do more than start looking around for the archer, they and Helene heard an enraged roar coming from one of the other entrances to the building. It was a voice Helene knew, and she felt her spirits rise. The remaining guards turned immediately towards the charging Kassandra, and Helene quietly made her way to the column that had hidden the child from her, gasping when she got close enough to see her.</p><p>“Phoibe?”</p><p>She knelt beside the child, who lay crumpled and still, and placed a finger against her neck, blowing out a relieved breath when she felt the thump of her heartbeat. She made as thorough an examination as she could manage in the dim light, noting the bruising already starting to show on the girl’s face from the guard’s backhanded blow. Gently probing her skull on the opposite side, she found a lump. It seemed that the blow had thrown her against the column, knocking her out. At that moment, the girl’s eyes fluttered open, and she flinched away from Helene, whimpering suddenly and clutching at her right arm.</p><p>Helene rushed to soothe her.</p><p>“Ela, Phoibe. It’s me, Helene. It’s going to be ok. Kassandra’s here too.” She glanced into the middle of the room, to find that Kassandra was now facing off against a single enemy, the bodies of the other two lying nearby. “She’s dealing with the men who hurt you, but she’ll be done soon. Your arm hurts? Can I see?”</p><p>She waited until Phoibe moved her good hand out of the way, before running her fingers over it as gently as possible, wincing when the girl hissed with pain.</p><p>“It’s broken. I’ll need to set the bone before I can bind it up. And I’m sorry, Phoibe, but it’s going to hurt. A lot. Are you ready?”</p><p>Phoibe whimpered lightly, but nodded, and Helene made the adjustment. Phoibe let out a scream, which was followed by a roar of rage from Kassandra.</p><p>“Leave her alone, you monsters!”</p><p>Helene leaned away from Phoibe with her hands up.</p><p>“Kassandra! It’s me!”</p><p>Kassandra stopped short, her spear raised and ready.</p><p>“Helene?” She blinked dazedly, then turned immediately to the girl, dropping to her knees next to her. “Phoibe!”</p><p>“Kassandra?”</p><p>Kassandra reached for her, but stopped when Helene held out an arm.</p><p>“Wait. I need to bind her arm first. It’s broken. Here, switch sides with me. And careful of her head. She’s had a bad blow.”</p><p>Helene found what she needed to splint Phoibe’s arm in her satchel and set about the task, while Kassandra soothed the girl.</p><p>“Ok. We’re ready.”</p><p>Kassandra reached again to pick Phoibe up, but paused and looked back at Helene.</p><p>“Is it safe, to move her?”</p><p>Helene shrugged.</p><p>“Safer than leaving her here.”</p><p>Kassandra nodded.</p><p>“Come, Phoibe.”</p><p>She lifted the child in her arms, and they turned to leave the building, only to find Hippokrates and Sokrates running to meet them, out of breath. Sokrates looked from Kassandra, to the child in her arms, to the bodies of the guards surrounding them.</p><p>“Are you all right?”</p><p>“I need to talk to Aspasia.”</p><p>Sokrates shook his head.</p><p>“We need to find Perikles. He’s gone missing.”</p><p>“I don’t fucking care. Tell me where to find Aspasia!” Kassandra’s voice was cold and measured, and Helene shivered at the anger she could feel in it.</p><p>“You should go find Perikles, Kassandra. He’s sick.” Phoibe’s voice was low and raspy, and edged with pain.</p><p>“I need to get you to safety, little one.”</p><p>Helene put a hand on Kassandra’s arm.</p><p>“I can get her back to the ship, while you go look for Aspasia and Perikles.”</p><p>“Aspasia also went to look for Perikles. She went to the Parthenon,” Hippokrates said.</p><p>“It’s ok, Kassandra. Go find Perikles and Aspasia.” Phoibe patted her uninjured hand against Kassandra’s shoulder.</p><p>Kassandra turned to Helene.</p><p>“Are you sure?”</p><p>Helene gave a small smile and nodded.</p><p>“She can ride on my back, right, Phoibe?”</p><p>Kassandra nodded reluctantly and helped arrange the girl on Helene’s back, making sure her injured arm was held safely between their bodies. Helene slipped her arms under Phoibe’s knees to hold her up, and Phoibe wrapped her good arm around Helene’s shoulder.</p><p>“Be safe.” Kassandra rubbed Phoibe’s back gently before turning back to the two men and gesturing for them to lead the way.</p><p>“You’re the expert on Athens, Phoibe. You’ll have to tell me which way to go to get to the Adrestia the fastest,” she heard Helene say as she walked away from them.</p>
<hr/><p>Having Phoibe give her directions had been partly out of need – she really was not very familiar with the city – and partly to make sure the girl stayed awake during their trek back to the ship. She was certain that, if she’d had to use her own sense of direction, it would have taken much longer to get back. </p><p>They found Barnabas pacing the docks. He rushed towards them as soon as he recognized them and gasped in shock at the bruises on Phoibe’s face.</p><p>“What happened?”</p><p>“She was attacked. Can you help me get her down to the cabin?”</p><p>“Yes! Yes, of course.” Barnabas called back towards the ship, and several of the sailors and rowers who’d been lounging about on deck came in response. “Where’s Kassandra?”</p><p>“She went to find Aspasia and Perikles. Careful of her arm and her head.” This to the rower who reached out to take Phoibe from her.</p><p>The man nodded and cradled the girl gently in his arms.</p><p>“Where to?”</p><p>“The Commander’s cabin,” Barnabas called out. </p><p>The crowd grew as they reached the deck of the ship and headed below decks. Helene grabbed Gelon’s arm as she passed her.</p><p>“Get me a bucket of warm water, could you? And my kit from my cabin.”</p><p>Gelon nodded and pushed through the crowd towards the galley, grabbing Hestia, the head rower, on her way and pointing her towards Helene’s cabin. </p><p>Helene returned her attention to Phoibe, as the rower laid her gently on the bunk. She thanked the man, and as she turned with him, saw that the doorway was crowded with anxious faces. Before she could say anything, Odessa, reading her expression, turned around in the middle of the doorway.</p><p>“All right, all of you, let’s go. We can wait somewhere else. Let the healer do her work. We’re no use to her clogging up the hallways. Come on!”</p><p>As she chivied the crew away, Gelon entered the cabin with a bucket of water, followed closely by Hestia. Helene took her medical case from the latter, and thanked them. She took the lantern from its hook on the wall and sat on the edge of the bed next to Phoibe, holding the lantern close to her face and turning her head gently into the light.</p><p>“How’s the head?”</p><p>Phoibe winced and blinked rapidly.</p><p>“Hurts. The light makes it hurt more.”</p><p>Helene nodded and returned the lantern to its hook. </p><p>“I can give you a bit of medicine for the pain, but not a very strong one. Nothing that will make you sleepy. It’s dangerous to sleep too deeply when you’ve hurt your head, at least for the first day or so.”</p><p>As she spoke, she took the small pot of concentrated willow bark tea from her medical kit, poured a small amount into a cup and added water from the jar on the table. She then mixed up a few stomach soothing ingredients in another cup to counteract the willow-bark’s side effects and added a good dollop of honey for flavour.</p><p>“Here’s the medicine. Tastes horrible. But once you’ve drunk it, you can have a bit of honey water to wash the taste away.”</p><p>Phoibe made a face, but nodded as Helene placed the honey water on the floor, to free a hand so she could help steady her head to drink the medicine. The girl shuddered and grimaced, but drank the whole dose, gladly gulping down the soothing mixture afterwards.</p><p>“Why does medicine always taste awful?”</p><p>Helene smiled and shrugged.</p><p>“Good question. We’d probably be more likely to take our medicine if it didn’t, wouldn’t we?” </p><p>She returned the cups to the table, wet a cloth in the warm water and started cleaning the blood, dirt and soot off the girl.</p>
<hr/><p>By the time, a clatter of heavy footsteps announced Kassandra’s return, Phoibe was asleep, wearing one of Helene’s old tunics, Kassandra’s being entirely too big for the child.</p><p>Kassandra came to a sudden stop in the cabin doorway as Helene held a finger to her lips, and walked the rest of the way in silently. </p><p>“I just got her cleaned up. Don’t bleed on her.”</p><p>Kassandra nodded distractedly as she crouched next to the bunk and gently smoothed Phoibe’s hair back. Noticing a crowd gathering once again outside the door Helene approached them.</p><p>“She’ll be fine. She’s asleep right now. Is anyone else injured?” There were shaken heads, and one bright spark pointed at Kassandra, who was covered in blood, though Helene didn’t doubt that the majority of it was not hers. “Right, in that case, off you go. Let Phoibe rest.”</p><p>The crew dispersed, leaving only Barnabas and Aspasia in the doorway. Aspasia took a step closer.</p><p>“Is she truly going to be fine?”</p><p>Before Helene could answer, Kassandra, huddled over the sleeping child, but somehow conspiring to look larger than ever, had shot a poisonous glare over her shoulder at the other woman. She made Helene think of nothing more than a brooding hen, huddled over her chick, and she had to force down an untimely snort of laughter at the image. Biting back a smile, she put a hand out towards Kassandra and turned to Aspasia.</p><p>“She will. Why don’t you let Barnabas show you to a cabin, and you can see her later, when she’s awake.”</p><p>Aspasia nodded and allowed Barnabas to lead her away. Helene closed the door on them and turned back to Kassandra, who was still huddled protectively over Phoibe, though, Helene noticed, very carefully not getting any blood on her.</p><p>“Take off your armour. Let me look you over.”</p><p>“I’m fine.”</p><p>“That’s for me to judge. At the very least, you need to clean off all that blood. There’s a bucket of clean water by the table.” She paused as Kassandra slowly got to her feet. “Did you find Perikles?”</p><p>“Not soon enough.” Kassandra started unbuckling her armour and dumping the pieces in the corner, to be cleaned later.</p><p>“What happened?” Helene asked softly.</p><p>“Alexi-” She sighed and closed her eyes. “Deimos got there first. He waited till we could see him and slit Perikles’ throat in front of us.”</p><p>Helene gasped. Kassandra blew out a breath.</p><p>“I don’t know if he can be saved," she said, bleakly. "When I first found him, I thought there might be a chance, but now I’m not so sure.” She finished taking off the armour, peeled off her bloodstained tunic and dumped it on top of the pile and padded barefoot over to the bucket.</p><p>Once she was clean, Helene looked her over.</p><p>“This one’s going to need stitches,” she said, examining a slash where a sword had slipped under the bottom of her breastplate. Seeing that Kassandra’s eyes were glued on Phoibe, she pulled the chair next  to the bunk and pointed to it. </p><p>“Sit.”</p><p>“How is she, really?”</p><p>“She’ll be fine. She’s a hardy little thing. In a few days, she’ll be trying to climb the mast again. Though I wouldn’t suggest you allow it for at least two weeks.” She was pleased to see Kassandra smile weakly at that and bent to her stitching once more. “The broken arm and the head injury are the worst of it. She has some other bruises, but they all appear superficial at most.” </p><p>She didn’t mention that one of those bruises looked like a kick. The men who had done it were already dead, and it would only upset Kassandra to hear it. It made her blood boil, though, to think that anyone could do that to a child.</p><p>“We’ll have to wake her every hour or so tonight, and don’t be surprised if she has trouble remembering the details of the attack. That can happen with head injuries.” She tied off the last stitch and stood, reaching for a pot of ointment and dabbing it over the slash and her various other cuts and scrapes, finishing with a bandage over the worst of them. “Ok, all set. You can get dressed now.” </p><p>She turned back to the table and pulled a small vial from her kit. </p><p>“I’m going to check on Aspasia.” She heard a disgusted sound from behind her, and turned back to Kassandra. “I know,” she said gently, glancing down at the sleeping girl. “But whatever blame she holds for what happened to Phoibe today, she also just saw her husband killed in front of her.”</p><p>Kassandra smiled down at her and put her arms around her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.</p><p>“You’re a better person than I am.”</p><p>Helene leaned up to kiss her and smiled back at her.</p><p>“I doubt that. I won’t be long.”</p>
<hr/><p>She left Aspasia with a mild mixture of poppy juice, just enough to let her sleep through the night, and returned to the cabin, to find Kassandra reclining on the bunk, with Phoibe cradled against her chest. The girl was blinking blearily up at Kassandra, with as big a smile as her bruised cheek would allow. Helene hesitated in the doorway, watching them.</p><p>“I knew you would come.” </p><p>“Of course I came.” Kassandra pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Phoibe’s head and settled herself more comfortably.</p><p>“Did you find Aspasia? And Perikles?”</p><p>“Aspasia’s here on the ship with us. But Perikles… didn’t make it.”</p><p>“Oh. So we’re not staying in Athens?”</p><p>“No, little one.”</p><p>“Where is she going to live now? Will she still need me to work for her?”</p><p>“I don’t know what her plans are. But you’re staying with me, Phoibe. If you want to?” she added hesitantly.</p><p>“But I thought you said it was too dangerous?”</p><p>“I did. It is.” Kassandra took a shaky breath and glanced up, noticing Helene in the doorway. “I thought if I didn’t bring you with me you’d be safe, and look how that turned out. At least if we’re together, I can watch out for you. Protect you.”</p><p>“And I can watch out for you too.”</p><p>Kassandra smiled.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Good.” Phoibe yawned and cuddled closer to Kassandra, drifting off to sleep again almost immediately.</p><p>Kassandra looked over at Helene, as she walked towards them, and sat on the edge of the bunk next to her.</p><p>“I saw, you know.” Kassandra’s voice was low.</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“When I was checking over the bodies to see if they had any useful information on them.”</p><p>“What did you see?”</p><p>“Your arrow. Your arrow in one of their throats.” Kassandra’s gaze was intense. Helene was unable to look away. “If you hadn’t been there, if you hadn’t distracted them… taken their focus off Phoibe…” She looked down at Phoibe and took a shaky breath. “I don’t think I would have arrived in time.”</p><p>Kassandra leaned forward enough to press her lips gently to Helene’s.</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>She shifted carefully towards the wall, and patted the mattress next to her, holding out an arm.</p><p>“Stay with us?”</p><p>Helene smiled, and slipped under Kassandra’s arm, careful not to jostle the sleeping girl.</p><p>“As long as you’ll let me.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And since this is the fix this fic was leading up to, this is where we'll leave them.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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